Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close
  • Drew Dowdell
    Drew Dowdell

    By Drew Dowdell •

    Rivian To Try Out Subscription Model

      ...The unproven sales model proves tempting...

    Rivian says it is interested in pursuing a subscription model as one of the ways you can get into a Rivian truck or SUV.  Subscription programs include all maintenance and insurance requirements in a single payment.  Rivian sees potential for customers who want to use one vehicle for daily commuting and another vehicle for weekend jaunts. Traditionally, the subscription model has been geared towards the affluent with brands such as Cadillac, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and Lincoln. The only mid-price brand to try subscriptions in the U.S. has been Ford.

    Aside from the subscription option, customers will also be able to purchase directly from the company. Like Tesla, Rivian is eschewing the traditional dealership model and doing direct sales only. How Rivian will run the same gauntlet that Tesla did with state dealership associations is something that is still a mystery. 

    Rivian has received large investments from outside firms such as Amazon, Ford, Cox Automotive, and others. Amazon recently announced that they placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian. 

    Go to articles

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    balthazar

    Of course; Rivian isn’t remotely a mid-priced brand.

    Has any brand reported much success with these subscription programs? Sounds like it certainly would have some takers, but I haven’t heard any results. 

    • Agree 3
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Drew Dowdell
    2 minutes ago, balthazar said:

    Of course; Rivian isn’t remotely a mid-priced brand.

    Has any brand reported much success with these subscription programs? Sounds like it certainly would have some takers, but I haven’t heard any results. 

    I wouldn't have called any of them successful.  Ford dumped their Ford/Lincoln subscription subsidiary on a California company called Fair. Cadillac Book has had at least one reboot with a long shutdown. Volvo's program had substantial teething problems when first started up.  Haven't heard anything good or bad or... at all... about Benz's unless you consider Car2go, but that is more like car sharing than car subscription. Car2Go just shut down in 4 major markets. 

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    G. David Felt

    Car2Go is now merged with BMW, heavily used here in Seattle.

    Wanted and tried to get into the private event for Rivian where they showed off their new Blue Rivian R1T. I got an email on Sunday after the Friday event saying they were sorry. Hopping to still get to one of these and test fit myself in them. I hope this works for them as I think this would be a great way for folks to test and try out a large size EV.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Drew Dowdell
    3 minutes ago, dfelt said:

    Car2Go is now merged with BMW, heavily used here in Seattle.

    Wanted and tried to get into the private event for Rivian where they showed off their new Blue Rivian R1T. I got an email on Sunday after the Friday event saying they were sorry. Hopping to still get to one of these and test fit myself in them. I hope this works for them as I think this would be a great way for folks to test and try out a large size EV.

    Yeah, but I'm still unsure of if they mean Subscription as in a really fancy lease that you can opt out of at any time.... or car sharing like Car2Go.  They're two different beasts. 

    • Thanks 1
    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    G. David Felt
    26 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

    Yeah, but I'm still unsure of if they mean Subscription as in a really fancy lease that you can opt out of at any time.... or car sharing like Car2Go.  They're two different beasts. 

    Got it, that is very true, if they go Car2Go, that might work for people wanting to test out an EV. Yet a Lease for 1yr or 2yr where you can flip back n forth between the R1T and R1S would also be nice so that you can see what works best for you.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    USA-1

    Yep, Car2Go is big on the whole West Coast. They are available in Seattle, Portland, San Fran. and are pretty big in LA and San Diego. We had a partnership for our Blink charging stations with Car2Go when I was with Car Charging Group/Blink Network.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    USA-1

    Until they come up with a better model, I don't think subscription programs will be successful for automobiles. We'll see how Rivian handles it, will be interesting to see.

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    riviera74
    16 minutes ago, USA-1 Vortec 6.2 said:

    Until they come up with a better model, I don't think subscription programs will be successful for automobiles. We'll see how Rivian handles it, will be interesting to see.

    Why would anyone subscribe a car when leasing has been proven for at least the past three decades?

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    USA-1
    24 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

    Why would anyone subscribe a car when leasing has been proven for at least the past three decades?

    Subscriptions are different from an Auto Lease. You can switch cars to try a different one with a Subscription, but there are extra fees involved to do so which gets pretty expensive, hence the reason the Subscription model hasn't taken off. 

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    smk4565

    It won't work.

    The only way subscription could work is for drivers there are borderline un-insurable.  People could pay anywhere from $500-4000 a year on car insurance.  If you are a high risk driver that can only get a $300 a month rate for insurance, then maybe a subscription makes sense.  But even then I am not sure it does.

    Subscription only works to a ride share service.  Like if Uber offered unlimited rides for $300 a month, people would sign up for that.  And that business model for Uber only works with an autonomous car when there is no labor cost involved.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    ykX
    12 hours ago, David said:

    peoples avoidance to using stuff others has already used makes me thing this service is now DEAD on Arrival.

    Were you drunk when you typed this?

    I really hope you were drunk ...

    • Thanks 1
    • Haha 2
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

    ×

  • google-news-icon.png



  • google-news-icon.png

  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • oldshurst442
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By oldshurst442 · Posted

      I am STILL waiting for everybody and his brother to pull a "Im NEVER gonna drive a piece of shyte Toyota ever again"  like they did with GM, Ford and Chrysler.  But then again, Americans DID vote for Trump a SECOND time.... And Canadians WILL vote for Polievre...  Im asking too much.
    • oldshurst442
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By oldshurst442 · Posted

      I didnt click on @A Horse With No Name facebook link because: 1. Facebook. I try to avoid Facebook as much as possible. Not hard to do anymore. Hope it dies sson though. I digress. Ill save THAT rant for another day. I think Ill start another Toyota hatred rant in the coming days instead... 2. I sooooo much hate Toyota, that I cant even bring myself to celebrate over Toyota problem stories because of the hatred being soooooo strong that even I try to avoid ANYTHING Toyota related.   (I do like some vehicles they produce as a disclaimer) But...I did listen to this one   Alls I got to say is...Toyota NEVER even HAD that reliabilty thing EVEN in the 1990s as that video is saying as the engine sludge thing HAPPENED in the late 1990s.  And even THEN, Toyota blamed the consumer...  So blaming the consumer is NOTHING new to Toyota. But the video is bang on!!! And as I was youtubing googling Toyota to retrieve that video above...I ran into Scotty Kilmore.   And he JUST released this video     Not gonna watch these videos, so I do NOT know of he has a clickbait title, but even Scotty has just acknowledged Toyota boo boos.    I have watched Scotty like 4 or 5 videos 5 years ago or something like that.  But Ill repeat, Toyota NEVER had this mythical relkiabilty thing. Some cars were built like tanks from them. Some cars are STILL built like gtanks from them. But they have had they SAME amount, but probably MORE shytty cars failing then any OTHER OEM...   But hey...  The Toyota kool-aid was some delicious shyte back in the day. Glad I NEVER drank it though.  But if Scotty is TRULY dissing Toyota's reliability, it MUST be a very REAL thing. But it ALWAYS HAD been a thing.  Oh well...
    • oldshurst442
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By oldshurst442 · Posted

      @G. David Felt  is such a lazy ass bum, isnt he? He sleeps all day that  &@#%*!@$  bum!!!       We arent supposed to speak about Toyota problems.  You'll be called an @$$hole, be questioned of your ancestry and citizenship...   
    • ccap41
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By ccap41 · Posted

      Heal up quickly!  What'd you have surgery for? 
    • G. David Felt
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By G. David Felt · Posted

      Still alive, sleeping allot, taking my pain meds and watching a little TV when not sleeping. Sorry I did not get to posting a story on the Huge Kia reveal at the LA Auto Show or the Reveal on the Hyundai Ioniq 9. Will tey to get caught up once I am not sleeping so much. Right now only on my cell phone.

  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search