2022 Rivian R1T: America’s first production electric dual-cab ute rolls off assembly line

Electric vehicle start-up Rivian has built the USA's first production electric dual-cab ute, beating Tesla, Ford, and General Motors to the punch.

At least seven examples of its R1T pickup – finished in 'Rivian Blue', and featuring an optional off-road bumper kit – rolled off the brand's Illinois assembly line overnight.

Company founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, tweeted: “After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning our first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal!  Our team’s collective efforts have made this moment possible … Can’t wait to get these into the hands of our customers!”

It is unclear how many vehicles have been built in total so far, or when the first customer deliveries will commence – though the company has previously indicated a launch later in September. Drive has contacted Rivian for more information, and this story will be updated with its response.

The Rivian R1T pickup and R1S SUV share a skateboard platform, with dual motors – one on each axle – sending "up to" 550kW/1124Nm to all four wheel. This allows the 0-100km/h sprint to be conquered in a claimed 3.0 seconds, on the way to an electronically-capped top speed of 200km/h.

Last month two pre-production examples of the vehicles were spotted at Sydney airport, likely for local hot weather testing.

The manufacturer has previously suggested it would like to offer its product range Down Under, however this is yet to be confirmed.

The electric ute segment is tipped to grow substantially in the coming years – the first 'Edition 1' examples of the GMC Hummer EV are set to be produced within months, while Ford's F-150 Lightning is set to arrive in US showrooms early next year. Tesla originally promised its Cybertruck would go on sale this year, however last month Elon Musk pushed deliveries back to 2022 at the earliest.

The Rivian isn't the first electric ute in the world, however, with models from GWM and LDV on sale in China, among others in various markets.