Company founder R.J. Scaringe says Rivian’s platform system has been designed to appeal to customers looking for more than appliance-like utility from an automobile. The platform, which has been designed for a variety of vehicle applications, also dramatically reduces the amount of capital required for production launch. Photo: Florida Trend & Jon M. Fletcher

Florida Trend

By Mark R. Howard

A lot of hopes are riding on a sporty blue car that occasionally can be seen turning laps in the parking lot of an industrial complex on the Space Coast. Even the local economic developers on the Space Coast who are rooting mightly for R.J. Scaringe to succeed acknowledge what one called a “giggle factor” in the notion that the 28-year-old engineer can start an automobile manufacturing company from scratch along the Indian River in Brevard County.

Read the Full Article – Florida Trend

Enterprise Florida CEO Gray Swoope, Rivian Automotive CEO R.J. Scaringe, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll

Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll presented entrepreneur R.J. Scaringe with Florida’s Entrepreneur of the Year award. Scaringe is the Founder and CEO of Rivian Automotive, an innovative automotive company that is developing fuel-efficient performance vehicles.

Scaringe, who founded the company in 2009, credited the gifted team at Rivian Automotive for the recognition. “We’ve assembled a rock star team of talented professionals who are passionate about creating ground-breaking cars. Our enthusiasm shines through our fresh approach to designing, building and selling cars,” says Scaringe, a PhD graduate from MIT’s Sloan Automotive Laboratory.

Rivian’s innovative vehicle platform technology allows industry-leading flexibility and efficiency at an affordable price. It is compatible with a variety of vehicle designs and powertrain options including advanced gasoline, diesel-electric and plug-in electric. The lightweight platform enables a significant efficiency improvement while ensuring 5-star safety.

Governor’s Business Diversification Awards recognize outstanding contributions toward improving and diversifying Florida’s economy plus distinctive community investment efforts, particularly relating to industries targeted for economic development and high wage job growth. Rivian Automotive represents the first significant automotive industry presence in the state. The company has already begun to attract automotive industry suppliers to the area and plans to support educational opportunities through the state public and private university system with a program known as Florida Center for Automotive Research (F-CAR).

It’s not everyday that the phrase “Have you heard about this new car maker?” can be heard. But, ripples have been felt from the new Rivian Automotive currently based in Rockledge, Florida and its CEO, R.J. Scaringe. The automotive prodigy has always been around cars- a student of the automotive industry- and soon this 28 year-old phenom could take the “Big Three” by storm.

Rivian Automotive was founded in 2009 after Scaringe achieved his PhD from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). He studied not only the mechanics and inner workings of the gasoline combustion engine in the Sloan Automotive Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Wai Cheng, but also lean manufacturing processes and operations management. This unique trifecta of skills and experiences has enabled Scaringe to conceive of a vehicle that not only appeals to the car enthusiast, but also environmentalist and cost conscious consumers. Most recently he was profiled by the White House as a “Champion of Change,” in recognition of the work his company was doing to innovate and put people to work in America.

Automoblog – Full Article

End Of Shuttle Program Leaves Thousands Jobless

by GREG ALLEN

Listen to Story

Article Excerpt:

In Rockledge, another company is taking the Space Coast in a different direction: designing and manufacturing a new type of car called the Rivian.

R.J. Scaringe is the 28-year-old CEO of a start-up car company. At the company’s headquarters, he shows off what he calls Rivian’s launch vehicle: a sleek sports car he expects to have on the road by the end of 2013.

“As you can see, it’s a two-plus-two configuration, so a four-passenger vehicle set up with rear wheel drive, mid-engine,” he says. “So really, truly a performance vehicle. Very aggressive looks in terms of the styling. We tried to go for a look that gets you excited looking at it.”

Scaringe says it was built not just for style and performance, but also with fuel efficiency in mind. This model gets more than 60 miles per gallon and will be priced as he says, in the mid-$20,000 range.

Scaringe grew up in this area. His father is an engineer whose company developed refrigeration units used on the space shuttle. He’s planning not just to design, but also to manufacture his car here on the Space Coast. One reason, he says, is the available pool of experienced workers.

“There’s just a mountain of very talented, very capable technicians, engineers we can tap into, particularly on the manufacturing side,” he says.

Eventually, Scaringe says he may have more than 1,200 workers on site, plus those working for contractors and suppliers.

It’s the kind of emerging business that gives workers and officials on the Space Coast hope that the end of the shuttle may mark the beginning of a new, diversified economy.

Full Article – NPR All Things Considered

I really appreciate the recognition from the White House that Rivian is truly rethinking and innovating within the automotive industry.

Check out the White House blog post which I wrote to accompany the Champion of Change honor.

Thanks – RJ

White House Champions of Change Blog