Rivian ECV: delivering on purpose

No longer an exclusive to the world’s largest online retailer, Rivian’s purpose-built electric delivery vehicle is now available for fleets looking to decarbonise. Having made a mark across the US and Europe — will they come to the UK?

Rivian is everywhere just now. With stocks headed to the moon following their multibillion-dollar tech sharing partnership with Volkswagen and the R2 slated for a future UK release, the American brand has been grabbing headlines as of late. However, what might have snuck by you, is that their fleet focused offering, the EDV (Electric Delivery Van), is now available to other businesses under the ECV (Electric Commercial Van) moniker.

So, what do these vehicles look like? The branding may be gone, but the friendly cartoonish looks remain. From the pixar-esque glowing eyes, to the partly shrouded rear wheel, and the tail-light “crown” over the rear door; there’s no mistaking these Rivian haulers for anything else when they cruise up to the curb and pop their hazard lights on.

As dedicated delivery vans, the EDV’s distribution chops have also carried over to the ECV. Functionality is a key focus, but don’t let the stripped back interior or lack of real passenger seat fool you, there’s plenty of clever technology packed in here.

All roads lead to dispatch and distribution in the ECV. There’s an expansive 15.6-inch central display screen to guide your route, a wireless charging pad to keep you in touch with the world, and a temperature-controlled seat and steering wheel for comfortable deliveries all year round. 

Use the 360-degree camera to pull up to your location, shift into park (which automatically opens the bulkhead), and step into the huge cargo space with standing room to select the correct package from your payload of up to 1,240kg. Parcel in hand, you can use the automatic rear shutter door, or the sliding passenger side door for safe pavement access, and that’s it — job done, on to the next one. 

Now, as a slight catch, the passenger window doesn’t open due to the door layout, but we reckon this is a worthy sacrifice as it allows you to step in and out with ease — important when you may do this hundreds of times per shift. What we can’t justify however, is the weak sound system which unfortunately has become a theme across Rivian’s range and has made its way into the ECV. Tinny tunes between destinations? It’s a no from us we’re afraid.

In a world where the new Renault Master E-Tech can flaunt a 285-mile range, we expect furrowed brows aplenty directed towards the ECV’s range of only around 150 miles. But, it seems Rivian has done its research and crunched some numbers. Within the last-mile delivery market where EV vans tend to thrive, the average operator falls well within this range on a standard shift. That said, if boosting this performance appeals to you, we’ve spotted ECVs sporting Hankook rubber, and we reckon you can’t go wrong with some reliable Vantra LT tyres.

So, at this point Rivian’s purpose-built delivery vans are a pleasing concept, and we think they have delivered. The main issue? We can’t get hold of them in UK to truly find out. But do you think these would have a place within fleets beyond the US and Europe?