Rivian fans have been waiting a long time for a lease program, and it looks like one is coming after all, albeit only for the R1T initially.
As Tesla is getting ready to deliver the first Cybertruck pickup trucks to customers next week, it looks like Rivian is putting the final touches on its inaugural R1T leasing program.
According to Rivian Forums (via Electrek), Rivian email subscribers have reported receiving emails from the company announcing that "leasing is coming next week for available R1T configurations in select states."
No further details are available at the moment, but we contacted Rivian for more information and we'll update this space when we hear back.
Until then, it's worth noting that Rivian is trying to liquidate its R1T inventory, announcing a few days ago a new offer consisting of a complimentary Level 2 wall charger and a $2,000 install credit for it. The offer is for customers who want to buy a brand-new Rivian R1T from inventory.
The upcoming lease deal may be for inventory-only R1Ts as well, seeing as there's no mention of the R1S in the lease program. The explanation for that may be that Rivian doesn't have R1S vehicles in its inventory—it doesn't offer the option to shop available inventory for the R1S on its website at the moment.
Still, as Rivian produces more R1S vehicles, the electric SUV will probably populate the company's inventory and be added to the lease program next year.
It's worth noting that this is not the first time Rivian has mentioned plans to introduce leasing for its vehicles. On its third-quarter earnings call, Rivian said leasing would come by the end of 2023.
Plans to introduce leasing were also mentioned in Rivian's latest newsletter for the month of November 2023. The company said in the document that it is "getting ready to launch a leasing program on select R1T models in select states." The EV maker said more information on how to lease a Rivian would follow later.
Leasing will likely help Rivian shift the inventory of existing R1T pickups and increase sales before the end of the year. The EV maker posted good results in the third quarter of the year and recently raised its production goal for 2023 to 54,000 units from 52,000 in the Q3 earnings report. The company also reported hitting an annualized production rate of more than 65,000.
The Rivian R1T in the news: