Rivian is ringing in spring with an enticing new lease offer for Gen 2 R1 EVs. Through May, customers can lease any Rivian R1 dual-motor EV with a Max battery and performance upgrade for $0 down.
Rivian continues to be a shining star in American EV innovation. Riding the success of its flagship R1 models, the company continues to bolster its manufacturing prowess en route to additional models, including the R2, R3, and R3X.
Now in their second generation, the R1S and R1T have become best sellers, helping fund the company’s progress in building out its R2 assembly lines in Normal, Illinois—a vehicle that has already garnered hundreds of thousands of reservations.
While we await those new Rivian models, we can’t sleep on the current flagships. I lease a Gen 2 R1S and love it. For those interested in leasing an R1 of their own, there is no better time to do so. Today, Rivian announced a new “Nothing But Adventure” lease offer running this entire month, where you can save big bucks on your monthly payment with $0 down.
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The Gen 2 R1S / Source: Rivian
Rivian introduces “Nothing But Adventure” lease offer
The American automaker shared details of its latest demand lever today, which applies to any R1 EV with a dual motor configuration, a Max battery pack, and a performance upgrade package. Now through May 31, 2025, Rivian will cover your lease down payment with a $6,500 offer.
Additionally, customers can take advantage of the usual $7,500 EV credit, which is underwritten into each lease for being a BEV manufactured in the US. That mean’s its an additional point of sale bonus without having to wait for a tax credit at the end of the year. score!
So in total, Rivian’s May lease offer can total $14,000 off a new R1 model. That’s huge.
As expected, there is some fine print to be aware of. For example, Rivian leases are not available in all states. The $6,500 lease offer may be combined with the $7,500 EV Lease Credit, but “may not be combined with other public offers unless permitted by Rivian.”
Lease customers must take delivery of their Rivian Dual Max R1S or R1T with a performance upgrade by May 31, 2025, to qualify for the offer. The amount due at signing includes a $500 deposit, first month payment, $895 acquisition fee, and $0 security deposit.
“Honda hydrogen is open for business,” says David Perzynski, assistant manager of hydrogen solutions development at American Honda. “(We have) the fuel cell technology, the expertise, and the supply chain to power a variety of zero-emissions products, including commercial trucking and stationary power generation.”
The company arrived with a more developed version of its Peterbilt 579EV-based HFC semi concept, which is based on one of that brand’s existing BEVs and uses the Honda fuel cell as a range-extending generator for its 120 kWh battery … or, rather, it would – if it was ever plugged into a charger.
On battery power alone, the big Pete is good for up to 150 miles of fully loaded range. With the fuel cell along for the piggyback ride, however, the truck’s range climbs to more than 500 miles at an 82,000 lb. combined vehicle weight.
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More than just a range-extender
Honda envisions a world where its hydrogen fuel cell is used in much more than transportation and logistics applications. At the ACT Expo, Honda had a scale mock-up of what a hospital-sized hydrogen backup generator could look like – and hinted that such an installation might soon become a reality.
This is all very normal for Honda
Honda FCX hydrogen fuel cell concept; via Honda.
If it seems weird that Honda is pushing hydrogen so hard these days, it shouldn’t. Honda’s been developing hydrogen fuel cells for nearly forty years, and put its first hydrogen fuel cell car (the FCX concept, above) all the way back in 1999.
Since then, it’s put a number of hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles into series production, including the innovative Honda CR-V HFC hybrid that lets you fill the car’s 17.7 kWh battery with electrons at home for up to 29 miles of all-electric driving, then fill up the hydrogen tank for another 241 miles of driving … and they’re not stopping there.
We had a chance to chat with David Perzynski on Quick Charge last year, where he talked us through some of Honda’s hydrogen plans in more detail. You can check it out, below.
Volkswagen of America is recalling nearly 5,700 2025 VW ID. Buzz vans because the NHTSA says the third-row bench seat is too spacious. (For real.)
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the third-row bench is physically wide enough for three people, but it’s only designed to hold two, so it’s only equipped with two seat belts. That mismatch violates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, which covers occupant crash protection. A bench that invites three passengers but only protects two isn’t just awkward – it’s a safety risk. It simply makes it too easy to squeeze that third person in the back “just that once” without a seatbelt, and that’s inviting trouble.
Volkswagen will fix the ID. Buzz issue by having dealers install “fixed unpadded trim parts” that adjust the seat’s usable width, and they’ll do it for free, because recall repairs are always free. It’ll probably be hard plastic on the seat to ensure a third person can’t squeeze in. Owner notification letters are expected to go out starting June 20, 2025.
Volkswagen has reported that, to date, there have been “no field claims known” of safety issues caused by the extra-wide third row bench seat.
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Electric vehicle charging and battery storage specialists Zenobē have inked a deal with Canadian leasing company 7Gen to fund more than 500 commercial EVs and their associated charging infrastructure.
Last week, Zenobē agreed to provide up to $48 million (Canadian) in debt financing to 7Gen to help expand its vehicle-as-a-service electric truck leasing program across Canada.
7Gen supports fleet operators with a comprehensive set of vehicle leasing and financing solutions that cover EV charger deployment, energy management systems, and ongoing operational support for Canadian fleet customers operating electric trucks, vans, and school buses.
Zenobē secured $1.6 billion in equity from its joint majority shareholders KKR and M&G Infracapital to fuel its global expansion into EVs and grid-scale batteries back in 2023. Since then, it’s grown to support more than 2,000 EVs and 120 charging depots across markets in the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
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“We’re bringing our innovative funding approach to Canada and specifically to 7Gen,” says Steven Meersman, Co-Founder and Director of Zenobē. “We see momentum behind decarbonization in Canada’s supportive government policies and the clean, affordable power that will ensure a lower total cost of ownership for zero-emissions vehicles. We look forward to sharing our global experience electrifying over 120 depots to benefit 7Gen, its fleet customers and the wider electric fleet market in Canada.”
That innovative funding strategy is something Steven and I had a chance to discuss this week at the ACT Expo in Anaheim, California. “We’re being very careful in the way we approach the North American market,” he said (paraphrasing). “The market is fairly littered with the graves of other UK EV companies that have tried to find a foothold here and failed, so we’re being very careful about our partners.”
Despite living just a few minutes from his Chicago HQ, I’d never met Steven before this week. He’s a super-interesting guy and you will definitely learn a thing or two about how to build a multimillion dollar energy management company like Zenobē from our upcoming podcast (stay tuned for that). But the news here is 7Gen.
“Zenobē’s debt financing supports 7Gen’s next growth step and allows us to help our customers step up the pace of their EV adoption and benefit immediately from operational cost savings,” says Frans Tjallingii, CEO, 7Gen. “Zenobē’s team is well aligned with ours and we are thrilled to partner to scale our impact in Canada together.”
The company will begin rolling out its Zenobē-funded electric trucks in the coming weeks, with new partners and projects set to be announced shortly.
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