2025 Rivian R1S And R1T To Get LFP Battery And Heat Pump: Leaked Doc (2024)
Rivian is working on a mid-cycle refresh for its flagship R1S SUV and R1T pickup, and one of the most significant changes coming to the mid-size EV pair is a standard lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery.
The other significant change that should help with efficiency is the addition of a heat pump. Both were spotted in a leaked certification document posted on the Rivian Owners forum. The 64-page doc also mentions the EPA-estimated range figures for the new battery and wheel combinations.
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New stuff for the R1
The upcoming R2 and R3 EVs previewed by Rivian earlier this year are said to incorporate the latest and greatest tech in the name of efficiency. Now, the R1S and R1T flagships are in for a mid-cycle refresh that will incorporate some of that tech to make them better.
The paper says that the upcoming 2025 Rivian R1S and R1T EVs will be fitted as standard with a dual-motor layout and a 92.5-kilowatt-hour LFP battery pack that has a volume of 505 liters and a weight of 1,602 pounds (727 kilograms). By contrast, the default option for today’s R1S and R1T is a non-LFP unit that packs 105.9 kWh of energy, weighs 1,754 lbs (796 kg) and has a volume of 562 liters.
Rivian Plans To Make Up To 155,000 R2 SUVs Annually In Illinois
Rivian also currently offers a Standard+ battery with 121 kWh, a Large Pack with 135 kWh and a Max battery with 149 kWh. None of these versions were mentioned in the document.
The new LFP battery pack is smaller on all counts, so it will be interesting to see how these changes will affect the real-world range of the EVs. Another interesting thing is that with the LFP pack, the most efficient wheels are 22-inchers, while the 20-inch set needs more energy.
The certification doc doesn’t mention what type of tires were fitted to each wheel size, but the 20-inch ones are likely covered in all-terrain rubber, while the bigger ones get a set of street tires. With the new, lighter LFP battery pack and 20-inch wheels, the R1S has a curb weight of 6,532 lbs, while the R1T tips the scales at 6,507 lbs, according to the paper.
The same document includes several range figures for the R1S. With 20-inch wheels, Rivian’s SUV can reportedly cover 380 miles on a single charge in the city and 321 miles on the highway. With 22-inch wheels, the same dual-motor EV can reportedly drive 405 miles in the city and 339 miles on the highway. The 21-inch wheels currently on offer seem to have been eliminated from the 2025 model year lineup.
The leaked document included two photos of a 2025 Rivian R1S development prototype
Today, the base-spec R1S has an estimated combined range of 270 miles on a full charge.
Speaking of charging, the same maximum DC charge rate of 210 kW currently available to Rivian R1S and R1T owners will carry over to 2025 models with the LFP battery. The CCS Combo 1 charging port will also stick around for the facelift, even though Rivian partnered with Tesla to allow owners to use the Supercharger network of DC fast chargers in North America. The initial timeline said that Rivian would adopt the NACS plug on its cars starting in 2025, but this document suggests otherwise.
The leaked paper also revealed the relocation of the air conditioning compressor to improve noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) levels.
The main advantages of an LFP battery pack compared to a nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery are a lower manufacturing cost and its ability to accept recharges from 0% to 100% state of charge without worrying about degradation. However, they’re slightly more sensitive to extreme temperature changes and are usually less energy-dense, meaning they can store less energy in the same footprint as an NCM pack.
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Prospective Rivian buyers who want to get their hands on the most affordable R1T or R1S must now choose the 270-mile lithium iron phosphate (LFP or LiFePO 4) battery. Don't worry, it's not bad. After all, you're still buying a $70,000 all-electric pickup truck or a $76,000 three-row eSUV.
The Rivian R1S and R1T are refreshed for 2025, adding an 850-hp Tri Motor model and improved batteries, including a new lithium-iron-phosphate Standard pack. All electric motors are now built in-house by Rivian, with the revised Quad Motor model now making 1025 horsepower and 1103 pound-feet of torque.
Rivian estimates the Standard battery's range at 270 miles, versus the 352-mile range estimate for the Large pack and the 410-mile EPA estimate for the Max battery. The Standard battery costs $9100 less than the Large and $19,100 less than the Max battery.
And lithium ferrous phosphate (LFP) batteries are expected to endure thousands of cycles, with some estimates closer to 10,000. For an EV with 500km of range, that means something like five million kilometres of driving.
The 22 analysts with 12-month price forecasts for Rivian Automotive stock have an average target of 18.59, with a low estimate of 13 and a high estimate of 30. The average target predicts an increase of 40.30% from the current stock price of 13.25.
As Rivian continues to improve its production efficiency, reduce costs, and introduce more customers to its EDVs, it could be lighting the spark the company and investors need in 2025. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.
Currently, Rivian sources its battery cells from Samsung SDI in South Korea, where it is assembled into battery packs in its plant in Normal, Illinois.
The U.S. Department of Energy says an EV's range can drop by around 41 percent in subfreezing temps, so we used our long-term Rivian R1T to explore that claim. In our real-world highway range test, we saw the R1T's result drop from 250 miles on a 42-degree day to 190 miles in 12-degree weather—a 27 percent difference.
My friends at Out of Spec Studios recently tested the new Gen 2 Rivian R1S with the Standard Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, better known as LFP. This is the first available Rivian vehicle to offer an LFP battery for the general consumer.
How much to replace the battery in my Rivian? Depending on power, size, and quality, prices for a replacement car battery range from about $45 to $250.
The Standard pack slides a 106-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery between the wheels. It can only be paired with the Dual Motor powertrain, good for a Rivian-estimated 270-mile range.
Which EV models get LFP batteries? Tesla announced in October 2021 that it was switching to LFP batteries for its standard range models in both Model 3 and Model Y.
The 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning will receive a new LFP battery pack at some point during its production run, which is expected to be optional on the Pro and XLT trims, with the current NICM unit standard range battery serving as the standard option.
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cells in the Powerwall 3 have finally been confirmed after much speculation. The new cells are warranted for a capacity retention of 70% at 10-years, but the Tesla presenter said they anticipate real-world performance to be 80-90% after those 10 years.
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