Rivian Q3 2026: R2 is now its best-seller as deliveries hit a record

The smaller, cheaper Rivian R2 has quickly become the company's most important car. In its third-quarter results, published on 29 October, Rivian said the R2 was its best-selling vehicle by volume, ahead of both the R1 truck and SUV and its electric delivery van.

Record quarter

Rivian built 19,751 vehicles at its plant in Normal, Illinois, between July and September and delivered a record 19,248, up 46% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 38% to $2.155 billion. Automotive revenue grew 36% to $1.55 billion, while software and services brought in $605 million, $354 million of it from Rivian's joint venture with Volkswagen Group.

The company is still losing money, but less of it. The net loss narrowed to $913 million (63 cents a share) from $1.17 billion, and Rivian reported a gross profit of $176 million. The car business itself still made a gross loss of $80 million; Rivian says ramping up R2 production added about $120 million of extra cost in the quarter. Free cash flow was negative $1.12 billion, and Rivian ended September with $5.5 billion in cash and short-term investments, or about $7.1 billion of liquidity including a $1 billion loan from Volkswagen received in October.

Higher targets for 2026

Rivian raised its 2026 delivery guidance to 67,000–70,000 vehicles, from 65,000–70,000, improved its adjusted EBITDA outlook by $100 million at the midpoint and trimmed planned capital spending by $300 million.

On software, Rivian expects a limited rollout of Point to Point, which steers the car along a route to an entered address under driver supervision, later in 2026 through its invitation-only early access programme, with a wider release to Autonomy+ subscribers in 2027. We explained who can join the early access programme earlier this month. Rivian also announced it is buying simulation start-up Third Dimension AI and will hold an Autonomy and AI Day on 9 December.

Why it matters

The R2 was always meant to be the model that turns Rivian from a niche maker of expensive trucks into a volume brand, and these numbers suggest that is starting to happen. The open question is margins: each R2 is still costly to build while the line ramps up.

Thinking about a mid-size electric SUV? Our guide to how long it takes to charge an EV and our home EV charger buying guide cover the basics of living with one.