TechCrunch Mobility: Rivian’s R2 gambit

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I was retired for a fewer days past week and we person a spot of catching up to do! I won’t rehash excessively much, but expect a fewer of the bigger quality items — ahem, Wayve’s $1.2 cardinal raise — to marque it successful here.

One much housekeeping note: I volition beryllium successful Austin adjacent week for SXSW, the yearly tech, music, film, and civilization lawsuit that ever attracts an absorbing postulation of tech founders, creators, politicians, and different manufacture folks. I program to be the Rivian event, wherever the institution is expected to uncover afloat details of its upcoming R2 line. I volition besides beryllium moderating a sheet called Innovation & Impact: Female Leaders Transforming Legacy Industries, alongside Rivian CFO Claire McDonough, Madison Reed CEO and laminitis Amy Errett, and Spotify main nationalist affairs serviceman Dustee Jenkins. If you’re there, delight scope out!

Speaking of Rivian, the institution is readying 1 of the fastest launches of a caller all-electric car successful the U.S. with its forthcoming R2 SUV. And the stakes couldn’t beryllium immoderate higher.

Senior newsman Sean O’Kane looked astatine humanities income information arsenic good arsenic Rivian’s ain projections for 2026. Rivian said it expects to merchantability betwixt 20,000 and 25,000 R2s this year, the archetypal of which volition caput to customers successful June erstwhile accumulation begins.

That means it has six months to scope that goal. Even if Rivian hits the debased extremity of that target, its income complaint volition outpace each different comparable electrical conveyance astatine oregon nether $60,000 speech from the Tesla Model Y, O’Kane writes. Read the afloat communicative here.

My question is what tactical determination is Rivian readying to usage to scope that goal? It won’t beryllium capable to simply state, “Pent-up demand, stupid.” This is nary tiny feat. I expect Rivian to effort a assortment of tactics to dispersed the connection and crook involvement successful its EVs into existent sales. What bash you deliberation the institution volition do? Email me!

Techcrunch event

San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026

A small bird

No small birds this week — oregon astatine slightest ones we tin share. Remember, if you person a extremity for us, you tin either email maine at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or scope maine done Signal astatine kkorosec.07. Sean O’Kane’s email is sean.okane@techcrunch.com

Deals!

This is from past week, but it’s worthy commenting on. I’m talking astir Wayve and its $1.2 cardinal raise (up to $1.5 cardinal if it tin unlock a $300 cardinal milestone-based concern from Uber). As I mentioned successful my article, everyone seems to privation a portion of this U.K. startup, which is present valued astatine $8.6 billion.

Wayve is taking a antithetic attack to automated driving. It doesn’t privation to beryllium the operator. Instead it wants to licence its bundle — some a afloat automated driving merchandise and a little susceptible 1 meant for precocious driver-assistance systems — to automakers and robotaxi operators. Wayve has taken a self-learning attack to its software. The institution developed a bundle furniture utilizing an end-to-end neural web that doesn’t necessitate high-definition maps and lone uses information to thatch the conveyance however to drive. It’s hardware agnostic, which could beryllium appealing to Wayve backers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis.

Other deals that got my attraction …

Denso, the Toyota Motor-affiliated auto-parts supplier, made a takeover connection for Kyoto-based spot shaper Rohm, the WSJ reported.

Einride, the Swedish startup known for gathering some electrical trucks and autonomous pods that are designed to transportation freight, secured an oversubscribed $113 cardinal PIPE (private concern successful nationalist equity) up of its nationalist debut, which is expected for the archetypal fractional of 2026.

Harbinger acquired autonomous-driving bundle institution Phantom AI. Terms were not disclosed.

Holyvolt, the Swedish artillery tech institution backed by Volvo, acquired artillery materials institution Wildcat Discovery Technologies successful a woody valued astatine $73 million.

Momenta, the Chinese autonomous conveyance developer backed by GM and Tencent Holdings, has filed confidentially for an archetypal nationalist offering successful Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported. The institution whitethorn question to rise astatine slightest $1 cardinal successful its IPO.

Nominal, a bundle startup that helps defense, space, energy, and automotive companies trial their manufacturing processes, raised $80 million successful a Series B hold circular astatine a $1 cardinal valuation, led by Founders Fund.

Toyota upped its connection price for supplier Toyota Industries to $30 billion.

Zeno, an African startup, raised $25 million successful a Series A circular to grow its app-controlled battery-swap web and nutrient much of its Emara motorcycles. About $20.5 cardinal of that was an equity fundraise led by Congruent Ventures with information from Active Impact and Lowercarbon Capital. The remaining $4.5 cardinal is simply a indebtedness installation from Camber Road and Trifecta Capital.

Notable reads and different tidbits

Chinese automaker BYD unveiled a new artillery pack that it says is susceptible of charging from 10% to 70% successful 5 minutes. This is surely a crippled changer, but determination is an important caveat to this claim: It needs a circumstantial EV charger.

Hyundai, Toyota, and Chinese automakers similar Chery potentially look the astir interaction from the U.S.-Israel warfare with Iran, arsenic the Middle East accounts for a important percent of their deliveries, according to an investigation from Bernstein, CNBC reported.

Volkswagen Group surpassed an EV milestone this week. The institution said it has delivered 4 cardinal all-electric vehicles since it launched its archetypal exemplary successful 2013. Half of those came from the Volkswagen brand. The remaining income came from Škoda, SEAT/CUPRA, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and Porsche.

A video shows a Waymo robotaxi blocking an ambulance arsenic it responded to the country of a wide shooting successful Austin implicit the weekend. A spokesperson for Austin-Travis-County EMS told Axios that an serviceman followed established protocol to code the concern and was capable to rapidly determination the vehicle. Waymo didn’t supply a connection to outlets astatine the time. The incidental is the latest successful which a archetypal responder was utilized to determination a Waymo and raises questions astir the readiness of the technology.

One much happening …

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has scheduled a forum connected autonomous conveyance information for Tuesday. A who’s who of AV leaders are expected to attend, including Aurora co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, and Zoox CEO Aicha Evans.

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