SPY PICS: Rivian R1S spotted in Sydney again

A Rivian R1S has been spotted making its way through inner Sydney on the back of a flatbed truck wearing New York state plates.

What exactly the full-size US-built luxury electric SUV is doing in Australia remains to be seen, but wishful thinking would suggest Rivian might finally be making good on its promise to enter the local market given this is the second time in two months the big green rig has been spied Down Under.

The singular image was sent to carsales by regular reader Matt, who spotted the unusual sight on his way home from work last week.

“I first noticed the shape, then the brand really caught my attention,” he said.

“I’ve not seen one here in Australia before and aside from the recent article you guys [carsales] produced, hadn’t heard of them coming to our shores.

“The New York State plates also piqued my interest.”

The previous sighting came in early March and was promptly posted to social media in a very similar situation – a green R1S spotted on the back of a flatbed in Sydney, albeit without the plates.

Rivian has been eying or at least talking about right-hand drive production and an expansion into the Asia-Pacific region for years now and even floated the possibility of localised production.

However, the trail has largely been cold since November 2021 when it was revealed the US EV-maker likely wouldn’t launch here before 2024.

Well now it is 2024 and so either the recent R1S sightings are a coincidence or the proposed plan is actually being executed, which would make sense since Rivian’s APAC expansion was earmarked to happen after its entry into Europe – the groundwork for which is now being laid via the recently-revealed R2 and R3 models.

Rivian has previously stated there’s no firm timeline for an Australian launch, but we’ve reached out for an update and will amend this article accordingly if or when we hear back.

At the same time, dozens of mining-spec Rivian R1T electric pick-up trucks – prepared for duty by SEA Electric – are enroute to Australia as part of a growing fleet of EVs being sold by the Mining Electric Vehicle Company (MEVCO).

According to MEVCO, the mine-spec Rivian R1T dual-cab has a 4990kg towing capacity, 800kg payload, 914mm wading depth, 3069kg kerb weight, 8156kg gross combined mass and 3870kg gross vehicle mass.

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