Rivian Plans In-House Lidar Production, Eyes U.S. Manufacturing with Chinese Partner

U.S. electric vehicle maker Rivian is planning to produce its own lidar sensors and is considering partnerships with Chinese companies to advance this initiative. CEO RJ Scaringe stated that this move is part of Rivian’s broader strategy to independently develop autonomous driving technology, aiming to compete with rivals like Tesla. As an extension of this strategy, Rivian launched an in-house chip development program last year and plans to equip a version of its upcoming R2 model—set for release later this year—with lidar. Rivian has not disclosed the specific supplier of its lidar sensors, but the units showcased on its demonstration vehicles are visibly smaller than the spinning lidar systems deployed by Waymo in cities like San Francisco. Currently, Chinese firms such as Hesai and RoboSense dominate the market for compact, low-cost lidar solutions. Scaringe noted that viable lidar options priced in the “hundreds of dollars” range today largely originate from China. However, Rivian does not intend to directly purchase Chinese-made products; instead, it aims to leverage Chinese technology through joint ventures or similar arrangements to manufacture lidar locally in the United States. He added that Rivian is engaged in “active discussions” with multiple lidar companies, and potential collaborations could also involve other automakers, with the goal of establishing production capacity outside both the U.S. and China. Additionally, Rivian has already invested “hundreds of millions of dollars” into its in-house chip program. Its first chip, the Rivian Autonomous Processor (RAP-1), will launch this year using TSMC’s 5-nanometer process. Future iterations, RAP-2 and RAP-3, will utilize even more advanced manufacturing nodes. The company plans to refresh its chip platform every few years and has assembled a dedicated team to continuously drive the project forward.