Rivian is developing an electric bike

RIVIAN Automotive is developing an electric bike, the chief executive officer told staff, potentially expanding the (electric vehicle) EV maker’s product lineup.

RJ Scaringe disclosed the e-bike effort on Friday (Feb 3) at a companywide meeting, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified disclosing the private information. A small group of engineers is actively working on it, he said.

Rivian representatives declined to comment.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Scaringe was referring to a battery-electric motorcycle or bicycle. The company has patents for electric bicycle components and designs. The CEO hinted at the possibility of an e-bike at a conference in October, saying that the company had long-term ambitions to move into micromobility, but he hadn’t disclosed work on an actual product before Friday’s staff meeting.

The gathering was called after Rivian announced another round of layoffs which Bloomberg and other media reported earlier this week. Scaringe told staff at the meeting that the cuts were made to refocus on ramping production of its electric vehicles and, longer-term, profitability. Scaringe said the company had tried to do too much at one time, according to the people.

Irvine, California-based Rivian builds two consumer EVs: a battery electric pickup called R1T and a plug-in SUV called R1S. The company also builds electric delivery vans for Amazon.com, one of its biggest backers. All three models are built at its sole operational plant in Normal, Illinois. BLOOMBERG