Owning e-Bike Patent, Rivian CEO Returns to Electric Bicycle Development

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe wants to develop an e-bike. (photo: Twitter @RJScaringe)

JAKARTA – Recently reported by Bloomberg News, electric car producer Rivian is developing an electric bicycle. CEO RJ Scaringe apparently briefed staff on the e-bike endeavor during a company meeting on Friday, February 3, and noted that a small team is currently working on it.

Bloomberg said it was unclear whether Scaringe was talking about battery-assisted bicycles (aka e-bikes) or electric motorcycles. However, Scaringe has tried to get into the micro-mobility business in the past and the company has patents for e-bike designs and components.

Rivian is a new automotive company based in the United States, actually has been planning to make electric bicycles (e-bikes) for a long time. Details about the design and specifications of the e-bike have not been officially released by the company.

However, considering that Rivian is known as a company that emphasizes innovation and high technology, the e-bike that they will make is predicted to have a futuristic design and be equipped with advanced features.

Despite all the hype behind EVs, electric bicycles have actually outsold electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars in the US since 2021. In Europe, even e-bike sales are on track to overtake all-car sales, electricity or not. It's a tempting sector for companies trying to find their way to profitability.

Last week, Rivian laid off about 6 percent of its workforce for the second time in less than a year as part of a broad cost-cutting drive. Rivian has been struggling to hit manufacturing targets amid supply chain issues and a looming EV price war.

Despite the revenue opportunities presented by the new category, automakers have yet to find notable success with their e-bikes even though brands like Porsche, Mercedes, Jeep, GM, Hummer, and others have all tried.

Even e-bike darlings like Rad Power and VanMoof have struggled recently after finding success during the COVID lockdown.