[Whataboykie!]

Somehow we must get RJ to think about this! There have been many delays, as some of the early adopters will agree. When I placed my order in Nov 27th, 2018, I was told that I may get it toward the end of 2019! That has changed many times to the current date of June 2021.
Why not make all Rivians 2022 models? Many manufacturers, when they bring out new models, make it the the following year model. Why not Rivian? Maybe because nobody has thought about it?
RJ, think about it, when are you going to change to a 2022 model? January 1st 2022? Why not make them all 2022 models and eliminate any guesswork or issues of when to do the model year change?
I believe it will just make everything much simpler. Someone please pass this on to RJ!

 

[eHauler]

Welcome to the forum @Whataboykie!

I hope Rivian make this change but it almost seems unlikely now. The Rivian site still says 'The 2021 Rivian R1T' and odds are things on that end are so far along that it just isn't worth going back to change.

You could try to @ message RJ on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook and see how that goes.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

There's probably regulatory hurdles that have to jumped through, so moving LE production to MY22 may not be feasible.

I'm hoping the non-LE trucks, with deliveries starting 1/22 WILL be MY22 trucks, however.

 

[MilesK]

Somehow we must get RJ to think about this! There have been many delays, as some of the early adopters will agree. When I placed my order in Nov 27th, 2018, I was told that I may get it toward the end of 2019! That has changed many times to the current date of June 2021.
Why not make all Rivians 2022 models? Many manufacturers, when they bring out new models, make it the the following year model. Why not Rivian? Maybe because nobody has thought about it?
RJ, think about it, when are you going to change to a 2022 model? January 1st 2022? Why not make them all 2022 models and eliminate any guesswork or issues of when to do the model year change?
I believe it will just make everything much simpler. Someone please pass this on to RJ!

Hey @Whataboykie! welcome aboard! I'm with @CommodoreAmiga I think there's some legal/regulatory issues for why Rivian can't do that. I'm a bit confused as to what would be easier by making that change.

 

[Bordawg]

Somehow we must get RJ to think about this! There have been many delays, as some of the early adopters will agree. When I placed my order in Nov 27th, 2018, I was told that I may get it toward the end of 2019! That has changed many times to the current date of June 2021.
Why not make all Rivians 2022 models? Many manufacturers, when they bring out new models, make it the the following year model. Why not Rivian? Maybe because nobody has thought about it?
RJ, think about it, when are you going to change to a 2022 model? January 1st 2022? Why not make them all 2022 models and eliminate any guesswork or issues of when to do the model year change?
I believe it will just make everything much simpler. Someone please pass this on to RJ!

Curious why it matters given it'll be the same vehicle regardless of what year they call it.

 

[lefkonj]

Company X releases a car in April 2020 and calls it a 2021, Company Y releases a car in August 2020 and calls it a 2021. Company X changes something minor and doesn't change naming but company Y does. I think this model year thing is lost already. They can call my R1S a 2009 for all I care, just release it and make sure the quality is spot on.

 

[travwill]

They will probably take an approach similar to Tesla and just keep making incremental changes. This the model year won’t matter too much but instead just infer a production year date is all. So a R1T in June may be an initial, but R1T in Nov could already have part updates... then again in Feb+... with some of those updates purely under the skin and others visible or a new option.

 

[Ebaldrin]

I do not think they will change the year designator simply because they are in a race to be first to market with a truck. I believe Rivian wants to be the only company with a 2021 model in the market.

 

[snapster]

They will probably take an approach similar to Tesla and just keep making incremental changes. This the model year won’t matter too much but instead just infer a production year date is all. So a R1T in June may be an initial, but R1T in Nov could already have part updates... then again in Feb+... with some of those updates purely under the skin and others visible or a new option.

This is almost certainly the answer - they will mirror Tesla because it is better for Rivian. Now, if you want to know what's weird, it is why no one seriously talks about this with Tesla for the last 10 years. Multiple times in their upgrade cycle they have burned Q3 buyers with a Q4 feature jump and yet they steadfastly refuse the model year convention. It is a power play that consumers are excited by to the extent that the concept of model years as a pro-consumer policy is forgotten. Tesla will obsolete your purchase anytime Elon is ready to tweet the next feature. I know from experience after being burned by this myself with a $20k valuation hit in 1 day after accepting a rushed delivery on the last day of Q3 2016.

 

[RenovatioLD]

I don’t think it matters unless 2022 models reflect a cost increase or decrease off the floor. With more market competition from other manufacturers and demand for SUV’s and trucks higher than sedans, it will be interesting to see how Rivian adjust the price on the truck moving forward. I imagine the first price drop from Rivian came from Tesla’s quoted starting price on their truck at $35k. I can’t remember but I believe Rivian was double that before they adjusted their price after Tesla’s revealing.

With the new generation of drivers coming majority don’t care about driving or the experience of driving (shifting gears, rumble of a v8, whine of a turbo or supercharger). Majority care about the automation and their phones and most importantly cost. Vehicles are not cheap, the need for a individual to own a vehicle especially in urban areas is debatable given all the abilities to get around without purchase and ownership costs of a vehicle.

So year of manufacturing date in my opinion is irrelevant at this point. Rivian has bigger issues to face such as competition driving the price down and making themselves marketable and attainable to the next generation driver while being a profitable car manufacturer. The middle class is being lost and shifting towards lower income classification so do you continue to produce high end models for 5% of the population or do you diversify your model portfolio to include the 95% of the population?

 

[Oxonium]

The model year is mostly a marketing gimmick, not one related to a legal/regulatory requirement. A lot of legacy automakers will introduce new model years early, sometimes as early as January of the current year. Why? Two reasons:
1) It allows them to count those extra months in their sales figures. So that new model may be the best-seller in it's class for that model year, despite those sales occurring over 23 months.
2) It tricks potential customers. After all, why should I buy this 2021 model when there is a 2022 model sitting on the lot? Sure, it costs more, but now I can brag that I bought the newest version! Oh, this 2021 model is cheaper than the 2022 model but is mostly the same...if I buy the older model, I'm saving money!

From a legal/regulatory perspective, model year doesn't matter. If there is a recall, it is done by build date or VIN, not model year. EPA fuel economy numbers may indicate model year, but manufacturers can and do update those within a model year.

Tesla, until recently, wasn't playing this model year game. If you took delivery of a Model 3 on Dec 31, 2018, it was a 2018 model. If you took delivery on Jan 1, 2019, it was a 2019 model. Tesla changed that policy in late 2019 and started claiming models delivered late in the calendar year as part of the next model year. I'm not sure why, but the timing lined up with them losing the EV tax credit.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Tesla, until recently, wasn't playing this model year game. If you took delivery of a Model 3 on Dec 31, 2018, it was a 2018 model. If you took delivery on Jan 1, 2019, it was a 2019 model. Tesla changed that policy in late 2019 and started claiming models delivered late in the calendar year as part of the next model year. I'm not sure why, but the timing lined up with them losing the EV tax credit.

doesn't the 8th digit from the right indicate the model year? Since the VIN is assigned before the vehicle begins production, the delivery date can't set the model year.

 

[Oxonium]

doesn't the 8th digit from the right indicate the model year? Since the VIN is assigned before the vehicle begins production, the delivery date can't set the model year.

Tesla used to pull batches of VINs well before the cars were built. They would pull a large number of VINs and would assign based on estimated delivery date. So if they projected that the car would be delivered on Dec 31, they would be able to assign a VIN from the current model year. I'm not sure if they still do bulk VIN number pulls.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Tesla used to pull batches of VINs well before the cars were built. They would pull a large number of VINs and would assign based on estimated delivery date. So if they projected that the car would be delivered on Dec 31, they would be able to assign a VIN from the current model year. I'm not sure if they still do bulk VIN number pulls.

Sorry for being pedantic, but that is not the same thing as "If you took delivery of a Model 3 on Dec 31, 2018, it was a 2018 model. If you took delivery on Jan 1, 2019, it was a 2019 model."

 

[Oxonium]

Sorry for being pedantic, but that is not the same thing as "If you took delivery of a Model 3 on Dec 31, 2018, it was a 2018 model. If you took delivery on Jan 1, 2019, it was a 2019 model."

Actually, it is. Since Tesla controls the entire delivery process (no pesky dealers), they could ensure that a 2019 model would not get delivered before Jan 1, 2019 and do everything in their power to deliver a 2018 model by Dec 31. However, I will backtrack a little and admit that only works with “projected” delivery date and not “actual” delivery date. While Tesla could project a delivery date of Dec 31, issue a VIN accordingly, and get it to the Tesla store, they could not force the owner to take delivery on that date. So if your projected delivery date was Dec 31 but you delayed delivery until Jan 1, the VIN would still be from the previous year.
Again, that is the way Tesla used to operate. They no longer do this.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I will backtrack a little and admit that only works with “projected” delivery date and not “actual” delivery date. While Tesla could project a delivery date of Dec 31, issue a VIN accordingly, and get it to the Tesla store, they could not force the owner to take delivery on that date. So if your projected delivery date was Dec 31 but you delayed delivery until Jan 1, the VIN would still be from the previous year.

That's all I was getting at.

 

[travwill]

Sorry for being pedantic, but that is not the same thing as "If you took delivery of a Model 3 on Dec 31, 2018, it was a 2018 model. If you took delivery on Jan 1, 2019, it was a 2019 model."

I think it isn't quite based on when you take delivery. It seems to be the year of production for Tesla and when the VIN get registered We tool delivery of a X in 2017, and it was a 2016 model on all lookups/VIN info.

 

[Heyvernsky]

Curious why it matters given it'll be the same vehicle regardless of what year they call it.

Resale value

 

[travwill]

Yeah, it would definitely make it easier if they implement all improvements/features that are new in a model year (except software), but I do like how Tesla just incrementally makes improvements all the time, or changes at least.

But, it makes it harder to buy used or know what your getting. A buyer has to really know some of the history and details about hardware, etc. when buying, for resale, etc. I.e. You have to know with a used Model SX3, what year is it sure, but what MCU version am I getting as those changed a few times, what version of AP hardware, 1, 2, 2.5, etc., which version of the 3 door motor parts do I have as the first two were unreliable, do I have the new improved seals that were mid-year, updated console, updated buttons & USB ports, etc. They all just roll out ad-hoc, thousands of improvements, but some are a bit more major or visible.

 

[Heyvernsky]

Yeah, it would definitely make it easier if they implement all improvements/features that are new in a model year (except software), but I do like how Tesla just incrementally makes improvements all the time, or changes at least.

But, it makes it harder to buy used or know what your getting. A buyer has to really know some of the history and details about hardware, etc. when buying, for resale, etc. I.e. You have to know with a used Model SX3, what year is it sure, but what MCU version am I getting as those changed a few times, what version of AP hardware, 1, 2, 2.5, etc., which version of the 3 door motor parts do I have as the first two were unreliable, do I have the new improved seals that were mid-year, updated console, updated buttons & USB ports, etc. They all just roll out ad-hoc, thousands of improvements, but some are a bit more major or visible.

Why should the manufacturer have to worry about resale
They don't make any money off resale