| Industry | Automotive |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Rockledge, Florida, USA |
| Key people | RJ Scaringe (CEO), Peter Stevens (Director of Design), Jim Thomas (CFO) |
| Employees | 30 |
| Website | www.rivian.com |
Rivian Automotive is an automaker based in Rockledge, Florida. It plans to begin production of a new design of fuel-efficient cars in 2013.
The company's founder and CEO is RJ Scaringe, a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute[1] and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan Automotive Laboratory.[2] Rivian is based in Rockledge, Florida, USA, and has around 30 employees,[3] as well as 20 more contract workers,[2] though it has plans to eventually employ as many as 1,200 people.[4]
Rivian was founded as Avera Motors, but in November 2010, Hyundai Motor Company filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that the Avera name was too close to that of the Hyundai Azera.[5] As a result, the Rivian name, inspired by the Indian River, was adopted.[5] In September 2011, Scaringe was honored by being named Entrepreneur of the Year at the Florida Governor's 2011 Business Diversification Awards.[6] Later that year, Rivian partnered with local research university Florida Tech to form the Florida Center for Automotive Research, or FCAR. According to Florida Tech's announcement, the major goal of FCAR is to establish an automotive engineering program to create safer, more fuel-efficient vehicles while bringing new jobs to Florida's Space Coast through Rivian's partnership with Florida Tech.[7]
Rivian plans to release its first production car in 2013, with other models following in 2014.[2] The car will be designed to focus on being both fuel efficient and fun to drive.[8] The design will include rear-wheel-drive, mid-mounted gasoline engine and an aluminum frame to save weight.[8] Rivian claims that the design will result in good acceleration and handling, as well as fuel economy better than that of hybrid vehicles.[8] Road testing of a prototype vehicle reportedly began in 2011.[5] The company's first model, according to Scaringe, will cost in the mid-US$20,000 range and have gas mileage of up to 60 miles per gallon.[4] Rivian is also in development of a diesel-electric engine that should achieve an estimated 90 miles per gallon in the city and over 100 miles per gallon on the highway.[9]
In July, 2011, Rivian announced the hiring of Peter Stevens to join the company as director of design[10] to head up the vehicle’s design development. Stevens is best known for heading up the design on the famed McLaren F1 vehicle.[10] In addition to Stevens, Rivian also employs former Mapquest COO/CFO Jim Thomas.[11]