Rivian is field testing dual motor versions of the R1T and R1S

Electric vehicle maker Rivian is testing dual-motor versions of its R1T pickup and R1S SUV in the wild. The automaker is currently putting these models through their paces during the New Zealand winter, according to a tweet from CEO RJ Scaringe that InsideEVs spotted.

The company announced in March that it would offer R1T and R1S variants using its twin-motor Enduro powertrain. He said these models would be cheaper than their four-motor counterparts, starting at $67,500 for the R1T and $72,500 for the R1S. Excluding destination charges, the four-motor R1T starts at $79,500 and the R1S at $84,500.

Rivian developed the Enduro motors in-house and the system is already in use: the electric pickup truck the company is making for Amazon is equipped with an Enduro drive unit. The company hopes the Enduro powertrain will help it cut costs and keep the price of the upcoming R1S, R1T and R2 models down. That's an important consideration for Rivian, given that the Cut Inflation Act the Senate just passed aims to introduce new federal tax credit rules for electric vehicles. Electric SUVs, trucks and vans priced at or above $80,000 will not be eligible for the $7,500 subsidy.

As Rivian announced the two-motor R1T and R1S, it raised prices for the four-motor EVs by $12,000. After a backlash, he limited price increases to new orders, though the automaker was soon slapped with a shareholder lawsuit over it.

Meanwhile, Rivian is trying to ramp up production of the R1T and R1S. It plans to build around 25,000 vehicles this year, despite an order book of 71,000 in early July. At the end of last month, it laid off 6% of its workforce to devote more resources to production.

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