Rivian Plans to Equip R2 With LiDAR for Customers in 2027
Employees will receive vehicles with the new RAP1 autonomy computer and LiDAR later this year, while the feature costs a few hundred dollars.
Rivian confirmed that its first R2 vehicles equipped with LiDAR and the in-house RAP1 autonomy computer will be delivered to employees before the end of 2026, with paying customers scheduled to receive the hardware in 2027. The timeline, disclosed at an investor conference in New York, suggests a shift from previous communications that indicated a "late 2026" arrival for the broader market.
What Happened
At the Evercore ISI ADAS, AV & AI Forum, Rivian Vice President of Investor Relations Chip Newcom stated that production of the RAP1 chip is prioritized for the R2, with Rivian staff receiving the vehicles first. "The plan is for our third-generation computer plus the LiDAR to go into the vehicle later this year for employees and then start rolling that out to customers next year," Newcom said. He did not specify a start date for customer deliveries in 2027. The R2 launched in June without this third-generation hardware, which was unveiled in December 2025 and includes a chip rated at 1,600 sparse INT8 TOPs paired with LiDAR.
Why It Matters
The phased rollout allows Rivian to refine its autonomy stack internally before mass customer deployment, though it may impact buyers expecting the hardware sooner. Newcom revealed that the LiDAR and dual-RAP1 hardware now costs "a few hundred dollars" per vehicle, a significant reduction from the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars cited in previous years. This cost reduction, combined with the move to in-house silicon, is expected to improve margins by eliminating payments to external providers. Additionally, Rivian announced that point-to-point driving features will roll out to current R1 Gen 2 vehicles and later hardware revisions starting at the end of this year for early adopters, with a goal of covering the full Autonomy+ fleet later next year.
The Bottom Line
Rivian maintains its commitment to deploying advanced autonomy hardware, starting with internal employees in 2026 and expanding to customers in 2027, while leveraging lower component costs to support profitability.
