Time to Start a Business? Rivian's Electric Van Now Available to Normies
Amazon's alone no more, the Rivian Delivery 500 and 700 vans are branching out.
Amazon delivery vehicles are everywhere, their blue-gray exteriors and smiling blue logos omnipresent, but if there's one that stands out, it's the Rivian-produced delivery van. You know the one, with the big round headlights, flat sides, weirdly long-looking wheelbase, and that huge LED arch lining the back end (by design, that signature lighting makes these oft-stopped delivery vans easier to spot and avoid by trailing traffic). When Rivian first started producing its distinctive, purpose-built electric delivery vans a few years ago, it was under exclusive contract with Amazon—but it ended that agreement in late 2023, and now orders are open to everyone (with an important caveat). Rivian—which also makes the civilian-use R1S SUV, R1T truck, and soon the R2 SUV—is free to sell its Delivery 500 and longer-wheelbase Delivery 700 models to any fleet it wants.
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We wish we could type here that anyone can buy the 500 and 700 vans, but that's very nearly true. Rivian will only sell to fleets or businesses, but if you're a regular person hell-bent on buying one of the vans, we suggest incorporating your own LLC. Would that work? We have no idea, but it would give you a "business," technically meeting the requirements to buy at least one van—or tens or hundreds of them, should you so please.
Regardless, those who can purchase a Rivian Delivery 500 or 700 have plenty to look forward to—not least among them a huge cargo area behind the front seats that can swallow up to 2,663 pounds of whatever can fit in its 487-cubic-foot hold (500) or 2,258 pounds that can stretch out in 652 cubes (700).
Why does the larger 700 have a lower payload capacity, despite being larger and able to hold a greater volume of cargo? Easy—the two Rivian vans share a 9,500 GVWR, meaning the 29.5-inches-longer 700's extra mass cuts into its payload numbers. It also results in the 700's driving range per charge dropping by 1 mile to 160 miles. Both Rivian vans are front-wheel drive, with a 320-hp, 299-lb-ft electric motor spinning their front tires and a lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery capable of charging at 11 kW via a Level 2 charger or 100 kW on a DC fast charger.
While some might be salivating at the idea of making a sweet camper van from the Delivery 500 or 700, more realistically the Rivians are better suited to urban delivery duties. They're designed specifically for the driver to smoothly and comfortably get in and out of over and over again, and the super tall rear door makes loading and unloading a snap, though the spacious interior would certainly make a great blank canvas for livable space. We could also see the Rivian performing food-truck duties well, besides stepping in for local tradespeoples' Ford Transits, Ram ProMasters, or Mercedes-Benz Sprinters. The 160–161-mile range sounds low, but should be more than enough for everyday deliveries and service calls.
If all of this sounds good for your business (air quotes optional), get ready to shell out $79,900 for the Delivery 500 and $83,900 for the Delivery 700, more or less in line with what Mercedes-Benz charges for the new all-electric eSprinter, though nearly double what Ford charges for a similar e-Transit.
A lifelong car enthusiast, I stumbled into this line of work essentially by accident after discovering a job posting for an intern position at Car and Driver while at college. My start may have been a compelling alternative to working in a University of Michigan dining hall, but a decade and a half later, here I am reviewing cars; judging our Car, Truck, and Performance Vehicle of the Year contests; and shaping MotorTrend’s daily coverage of the automotive industry.
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