Rivian has confirmed a seemingly minor but important change in the design of its upcoming R2 model, even though the electric SUV is still nearly two years away from production.
Rivian unveiled the R2 earlier this year, and fans were quick to notice the location of the charge port still on the right rear side of the vehicle. This was a peculiar move considering Rivian had already agreed to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS), which comes with specific design requirements, including the placement of the charging port on the rear driver’s side.
This location is where the charge port is on Tesla vehicles, allowing them to easily connect to Superchargers.
However, if the charge port is located elsewhere on the vehicle, like the left rear, R2 owners would need to take up multiple charging spots or stretch cables awkwardly in order to reach their charge port.
It appears Rivian either heard this feedback, or the R2 prototype shown off earlier this year was just that. The automaker has now confirmed it will move the charging port to the driver’s side rear once the R2 reaches production, aligning it with the Tesla standard.
The design change was first revealed by a Rivian vice president at the Rivian Space in Pasadena, California, according to a member of the Rivian Forums. Drive Tesla has since been able to confirm the news with a Rivian spokesperson. There was no word on whether Rivian’s existing vehicles, the R1T and R1S, will receive the same design change in the future.
It will still be a while until you see the R2 on a road near you. The electric SUV isn’t set to enter production until early 2026, a timeline that was moved up from later in 2026 due to Rivian’s decision to halt construction on their second factory in Georgia, and instead begin R2 production at their existing facility in Normal, Illinois.
