Your car develops a mechanical problem, so it schedules a service technician to come fix it where it’s parked and sends a notification to your phone asking you to approve the likely expenses. That’s the vision from electric startup Rivian in its plan for service and warranties.
Rivian is taking orders for two electric vehicles: the R1S SUV and R1T pickup.
Rivian will offer a bumper-to-bumper warranty good for five years or 60,000 miles on all its vehicles, the company says. That coverage is similar to what most major automakers offer. However, its battery warranty runs eight years or 175,000 miles. Rivian will replace the pack if it slips below 70 percent efficiency. Tesla also offers 8 years of battery coverage, but mileage on its warranties varies from 100,000 to 150,000 depending on the model.
Rivian Mobile Service
But it’s that mobile service that is earning the most attention. Rivian will build its own network of brick-and-mortar service locations – 40 to start – across the U.S. and Canada. It will also build its own network of collision centers for body repairs. But it hopes to provide simple repairs with a network of technicians dispatched in vans directly to your driveway or parking lot.
“Our fleet of mobile service vans can perform a majority of vehicle care needs at your home, place of work, or wherever your vehicle might be,” the company explains. “In many instances, you don’t even have to be present, so you can carry on with your day. Mobile service is available for all Rivian owners anywhere in the U.S. and Canada.”
Through its Rivian Remote Care system, each Rivian vehicle will perform regular self-diagnostic checks. The vehicle can then notify mobile service technicians of the likely issue so that they can come equipped with the parts and equipment needed to correct it in the field. The system, Rivian says, “can often notify you before you even sense a problem.”
When the vehicle needs service too extensive to be done outside of a repair shop, technicians will arrive with a loaner vehicle.
Cox Automotive, the parent company of Kelley Blue Book, is an investor in Rivian, though the two companies operate independently. Other major investors in the electric startup include Amazon and Ford.
