Ford and GM crush Rivian in electric pickup sales – Jalopnik

Rivian is at a crucial moment in its history: the R2 SUV will be launched next year. Starting at $45,000, the R2 should take Rivian to the next stage, but in the meantime the company is still selling the R1T pickup and so far 2025 sales haven’t been very impressive. In reality, according to InsideEVs (citing data from Cox Automotive) the “R1T is currently the worst-selling electric pickup in America.”

Rivian sold 2,378 pickups in the third quarter, and on paper that number looks good as it’s up about 13% from the same period in 2024. Year-to-date, however, R1T sales have seen a decline, down more than 32% from last year, with 2025 sales of 5,857 units versus the January-September total of 8,673 2024. (The R1S SUV sells much better than its pickup sibling.)

From InsideEVs’ perspective, Rivian is a victim of a US market soured on pickups powered by electrons:

[M]Most battery-powered trucks currently on sale in the US increased their sales from July through September. At the same time, numbers show that Americans are clearly not as interested in electric pickups as they are in gas-powered models.

In fact, only the R1T and the Tesla Cybertruck have seen major sales declines through 2025. Ford saw its market-leading F-150 Lightning replicate the 2024 pace (up 1%), while GM witnessed the GMC Hummer EV, as well as the Chevy Silverado EV, following significant increases.

The F-150 Lighting leads the 2025 sales race by a wide margin, moving 23,024 vehicles into second place, Tesla’s 16,097 Cybertrucks. The GMC Hummer pickup/SUV combination came in at 13,233, and the Silverado EV posted 9,379. The GMC Sierra EV sold 6,147 units, beating the last-place R1T by a few hundred units.

The R1T has been updated for 2025, and since its introduction the pickup has received generally positive reviews and built a dedicated ownership base. The sales decline occurred in the context of some turmoil for Rivian: The company has lowered its delivery guidance for this year amid ongoing supply chain issues. The company is also preparing to produce the upcoming R2 at its sole factory, located in Illinois. Last month, the ground was broken for a new factory in Georgiabut that facility will not come online until 2028.

As for the entire US pickup market, the The Ford F-series achieved total sales of 620,580 units through September. The F-150 Lightning’s performance is remarkable, but the vast majority of trucks Ford sells still run on gasoline.

This also applies to the other companies that are major players in the pickup truck field. The disparity between gas-powered pickups and their electric counterparts is indicative of an EV market that hasn’t quite come to a standstill, but is starting to look more niche than transformative for trucks. The challenge, of course, is figuring out how to make money on these vehicles: Rivian has lost more than $30,000 each.

The end of the $7,500 federal EV credit will only make matters worse as automakers will have to discount their electric pickups to keep up sales momentum. In this environment, it is unclear what Rivian should do. The R1T is expensive and could be structurally unprofitable; Cutting production in favor of the R2 to bridge the gap between now and the Georgia plant becoming operational might be the best business plan, but that would mean sidelining the company’s flagship.

Rivian may not have a choice. Ford and GM have predictably moved forward with their electric pickups – and Cybertruck has proven to be a fool – so the market may already have picked its winners. And the R1T may not be one of them.