Rivian acquires A Better Routeplanner

Rivian on Wednesday announced its acquisition of Swedish mapping company Iternio, the developer of the EV trip-planning app A Better Routeplanner.

The app, which allows EV drivers to plan routes incorporating charging stops, will be maintained as a standalone feature for drivers of all EVs, but its core features will be integrated with Rivian’s in-vehicle navigation system and mobile app, according to a company press release.

2023 Rivian R1S

“A Better Routeplanner leads the way in EV trip planning and is an important platform for EV adoption,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement, “which is why it’s so important for us to keep the platform open for all.”

Rivian drivers will soon have A Better Routeplanner’s features built-in, though. An upcoming software release will add the ability to plan trips based on charging networks and range on arrival, the release said. Drivers will also be able to use the Rivian app to plan a trip from home and send the information to their car’s navigation system.

2022 Rivian R1S

These features can be added to existing vehicles over the air, and will likely be available from the start in the Rivian R2, the smaller, less-expensive model that will serve as the follow-up to the Rivian R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV. Rivian CFO Claire McDonough confirmed this week that the R2 will be revealed in 2024 and will target a price range of $40,000-$60,000 as the automaker aims to broaden the market.

Rivian this week also confirmed plans to adopt the Tesla charge port, otherwise known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS). The automaker did not confirm when it plans to start building vehicles with the Tesla connector, or whether it will abandon the Combined Charging Standard (CCS) port, but said access to the Tesla Supercharger network could happen (likely with adapters) as soon as spring 2024. Now it looks like Rivian drivers will have an easier time finding those Supercharger sites.