Electric truck maker Rivian confirms it is developing an electric bike
We’ve received hints from Rivian over the past year that the electric truck and SUV maker is bike-curious. But now Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe has confirmed in a staff meeting that electric bicycle development is a go.
Scaringe announced the expansion into e-bikes on Friday during a companywide meeting, according to Bloomberg.
The move tracks with Scaringe’s previous interest in electric bikes, especially considering that the company previously filed to expand its trademark to cover electric bicycles.
The company also poached some high level e-bike designers from major brands like Specialized, bulking up its electric bike design team ahead of what many of us assumed was an inevitable e-bike project.
In fact, Scaringe confirmed during the meeting that an e-bike isn’t just in the plans, but that the first model is already actively being developed in-house.
Believe it or not, electric bikes actually outsell electric cars and trucks by a wide margin, in large part thanks to their lower production cost and thus much lower purchase prices.
And so it would make sense for the electric truck and SUV maker to explore developing a Rivian e-bike, joining other companies like Porsche who have expanded into electric bikes.
Though the move comes at a rocky time for Rivian, who was recently hit with a wave of layoffs amid serious cost concerns. Rivian recently announced that the company would lay off 6% of its workforce due to issues cutting costs amid its production ramp. That has resulted in the company selling its electric vehicles at a major loss.
Rivian has seen success ramping up production of its R1T and R1S electric vehicles over the last year, though the company still hasn’t been able to reduce its costs.
In contrast, electric bicycles are highly cost effective as they are much easier to both develop and produce.
E-bikes also have much lower regulatory hurdles, further reducing costs and decreasing the development period. That could help Rivian reach the market faster with lower overhead and a much higher volume product to complement its larger electric vehicles.
Many urban residents are also joining a growing cause working against larger vehicles, especially in cities. Massive electric trucks and SUVs like those made by Rivian have been the target of growing opposition online and in grassroots efforts. Smaller and more efficient vehicles like e-bikes are being promoted in many areas as safer alternatives that don’t endanger city residents or take up large amounts of public space.
Electrek’s Take
I’m all for this.
I think we’ll look back in many years and see how hard Tesla whiffed it by not entering electric bikes. It was their game to lose, especially as more and more auto companies began seeing the writing on the wall and got some skin in the e-bike game.
Rivian stands to pick up the slack left by Tesla, bringing major EV automotive design and manufacturing chops to tackle a simple and easy problem: designing and producing a quality electric bicycle.
I wish them the best of luck and I’ll be the first one to put down a reservation on a Rivian e-bike.
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Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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As “extreme” weather events become more commonplace, the demand for reliable and portable energy continues to rise. In response to that growing demand for dependable off-grid power, Volvo has developed the new PU500 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed to take electrical power when it’s needed most.
Designed to be deployable in a number of environments at a moment’s notice, the Volvo Energy PU500 BESS is equipped with approximately 500 kWh of usable battery capacity (up to 540 kWh total). More than enough juice, in other words, to power a remote construction site, disaster response effort, or even a music festival – anything that needs access to reliable electricity beyond a grid connection.
That’s great, but what sets the PU500 apart from other battery storage solutions is its integrated 240 kW DC fast charger.
“With an integrated CCS2 charger, the PU500 is designed to work with all brands of electric equipment, trucks, and passenger cars,” says Niklas Thulin, Head of BESS Product Offer at Volvo Energy. “This ensures that no matter what type of electric vehicle or machinery you rely on, the PU500 can provide the power you need, making it a truly flexible solution for any grid constrained site or location.”
The integrated charger in the PU500 has the impressive ability to charge a heavy equipment asset (be that an electric semi truck or something like a wheel loader) in under two hours. Its on-board capacity allows to fully recharge up to 3 electric HD trucks or 20 electric cars per day, making it an incredibly versatile disaster response asset.
Electrek’s Take
As we often say over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, “just because you’re working for the power company doesn’t mean you have power,” and there are hundreds of scenarios where the extra power provided by something like the new PU500 would be useful. Its ability to be palletized and easily moved or swapped out of a larger BESS array, too, just add to its flexibility.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo.
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