Rivian R1T Spotted Mapping Italy With LiDAR Ahead of Europe Launch
A Rivian R1T equipped with a roof-mounted sensor array was spotted on Wednesday in Italy, a test vehicle the US EV maker has been using to gather the data it needs before it can launch in Europe.
ARivianR1T equipped with a roof-mounted sensor array was spotted on Wednesday in Italy, a test vehicle the US EV maker has been using to gather the data it needs before it can launch in Europe. The pickup, finished in black and carrying Dutch license plates, was photographed in Bolzano by the Discord user ‘Waroen5’ and reported byRivianTrackr. Riviancurrently sells its EVs in the US and Canada, while a few hundred delivery vans co-developed withAmazondrive in Germany as part of the retail giant’s fleet. The Dutch plates indicate that the vehicle is not locally registered, consistent with a vehicle operating out ofRivian‘s European base in Amsterdam, where it established its regional entity,RivianEurope B. V. , in 2020. As seen with several other automakers,Rivianuses the real-world data these camera-, radar- and LiDAR-equipped trucks to collect data and train the driving model. Groundwork Without a DateIn late May,EVreportedthat the company had posted a job opening for a senior development lead to build out its European commercial real-estate footprint, a role based in Amsterdam and tasked with steering the design and delivery of sales, service and parts facilities across the region. The posting cast the successful candidate as the person who would “steward the physical foundation” of the company’s European market entry, working across multiple markets and regulatory regimes. Both the hire and the mapping truck advanceRivian‘s European preparations even as the launch itself remains without a firm date. Earlier this year the companyquietly removed its previously stated 2027 European launch yearfrom its website, replacing it with a message inviting prospective buyers to register for updates. Rivian‘s site now hosts dedicated pages for 18 European countries, among them the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Austria, none carrying a launch date. Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough has saidRivianwill take a measured, phased approach to Europe rather than entering every market at once, exporting first from its Illinois plant and expanding export volume as its planned Georgia factory adds capacity. The R2 as the Entry CarThe vehicleRivianhas long positioned as itsEuropean entry modelis the R2, the mid-size SUV that reached its first US customers this year. McDonough has described the R2 as the company’s “primary global scaling product,” and the model was engineered from the outset for markets beyond the US, developed with European dimensions and repairability standards in mind andconfirmed in Marchas one of the first vehicles to adopt the new GSMA eSIM automotive standard. He has also described European production as a long-term objective, even thoughRivian‘s near-term plan is to serve the region by exporting from its US plants. The company istargeting 20,000 to 25,000 R2 deliveries in 2026, within total guidance of 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles across its lineup. On how it will sell the car, founder and Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said last September that direct-to-consumer “is still the plan for Europe,” while acknowledging the continent leans toward a more omnichannel approach than the US, and McDonough has sincehinted the company could adopt a hybrid dealership modelin some markets. A Foothold Already in PlaceThrough its commercial partnership with Amazon, the company has run more than 300 electric delivery vans on the continent since 2023, and it has kept open listings formobile service technicians in Munichto support that fleet. Rivian‘s office in Belgrade, Serbia, its biggest outside the US, grew from 15 employees at the end of 2022 to 383 at the end of 2025, focused on vehicle software and driver-assistance development. The company opened anAI and autonomous-driving hub in Londonin July 2025, its first UK facility, and maintains a team in Lund, Sweden, inherited through its 2023 acquisition of the startup behind the A Better Routeplanner app. The Lund office is co-located with theRivian and Volkswagen Group Technologiesjoint venture, which by late last yearoperated across the US, Canada, Sweden, Serbia and Germanywith more than 1,500 employees.