Across the river, through the trees, or simply along the highway. No matter your location, Rivian’s mobile service team will come to you, and that’s the mission, as stated by the company’s CEO.
In Park City, Utah, during an exclusive one-on-one discussion on The Drivecast with the R2 launch behind him, Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe told The Drive, “If you require service while stranded on a mountain, we can dispatch a truck there.” A bold assertion, yet one that few, if any, CEOs of other automakers would likely make.
Tune in to the full conversation starting when Scaringe discusses mobile service below.
Service for Rivian has been a key issue since inception. At one point, customers faced waits of 40 to 50 days just to get their vehicles into a shop for repairs. However, Scaringe mentioned that those times are now behind them. A significant part of the resolution is the firm’s mobile service framework.
Scaringe stated, “One aspect of service we haven’t adequately discussed, and I see it beginning to come up in customer forums, is that over half of our service is conducted through mobile service. The objective is for that to expand to a very high percentage. We aspire for it to reach 75, 80% of our service operations.”
Mobile service is precisely what it sounds like. Scaringe described the program as, “For those unfamiliar, your car may be parked in your driveway with an issue, you submit a ticket or indicate you’d like it to be serviced. We send a technician to your residence. We operate a fleet of about 800 mobile service vehicles, primarily our vans, which function like a service station on wheels. Additionally, we have some units known as RSTs, Rivian service trucks.”
“The fantastic aspect of the trucks is their ability to reach any location. If you require service while on the edge of a mountain, we can dispatch a truck there,” Scaringe noted.
While the target is for 75% to 80% of service to be mobile, currently that figure is just below 60%, according to Scaringe. “The advantage of this is you won’t need a loaner, there’s no need to consult about drop-off. You don’t even have to be present. We can unlock the car on our own,” Scaringe explained.
Scaringe termed the mobile service component of the firm as “Incredibly convenient.”
Previously, Jeep’s Senior Vice President Mike Koval Jr mentioned to me at the 2025 Chicago Auto Show that the company was gearing up to launch a mobile service initiative in 2025. That never materialized. Tesla was the pioneer of mobile service, and some traditional automakers have followed suit, including Ford and Lincoln, among others.
If your Rivian experiences a breakdown on the edge of a mountain, we want to hear your story, especially if the company dispatches a team to resolve the issue.
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