Rivian is opening up its first Service Center in Europe, but it’s not for what you’d hope

American EV automaker Rivian may finally be making its long-speculated trek overseas into new markets in Europe. According to a recent job post from the company, it is looking for a manager to lead its Service Center in Berlin, Germany – which would be its first footprint in the EU. By looking to hire new positions overseas, Rivian’s EV expansion feels all but imminent. However, those EU customers hoping this means they will soon be able to get their hands on an R1T will be disappointed.

Rivian remains a relatively young EV automaker trying its damnedest to navigate the rocky terrain of start-ups and reach profitable scaled production without going under. Its two flagship EVs are already tackling both roads and trails across the US from the company’s current production footprint in Normal, Illinois.

With a second, massive facility under construction in Georgia, Rivian continues to expand its business model while simultaneously working to ramp up production of not only its consumer EVs but its electric delivery vans under a massive contract with Amazon.

While US consumers have been able to experience the performance and intuitive design Rivian EVs are bringing to the table, customers elsewhere have been waiting by the sidelines for their chance to try out a genuine off-road EV. That has previously led people in Europe to speculate that Rivian would be entering new markets as early as 2023, but the American automaker has since shot down such ideas.

A new job posted by Rivian has offered a glimmer of hope for customers in Europe, but it is fleeting.

Rivian seeks to hire service staff in Europe

As pointed out by member DuoRivians on RivianForums, the American automaker recently posted a new position for Service Center Manager in Berlin, Germany. Per the job posting:

This role requires an experienced professional with high levels of energy and initiative, deep understanding of service processes, go-getter attitude, great leadership skills, and cross-team collaboration. To be successful in this role, you must have a customer-first approach, thrive in ambiguous and unexpected environments, tackling all challenges with a creative and flexible mindset.

As a manager of Rivian’s upcoming Service Center in Europe, many of the responsibilities pertain to such, but it’s still difficult to decipher if the role will engage with passenger EVs like the R1T and R1S or just the electric delivery vans (EDVs) for Amazon. Here are some of the listed responsibilities:

• Accountable for effectively managing a P&L, Work in Progress (WIP) and customer experience measured by a Net Promoter Score (NPS)
• Lead and manage all local operations on the ground with a servant-leadership, hands-on mindset
• Ensure that programs and processes are developed, assessed, communicated, and administered in compliance with Rivian’s objectives
• Collaborate with Service Operations, Sales, Retail, and Delivery & Field Operations teams
• Work in partnership with cross-functional teams regularly on implementing and continuously improving field service operations
• Build a strong customer-centric team of Mobile/Service Technicians, Service Advisors, and Parts Advisors
• Develop and maintain a process to track and report on KPIs at the Service Centers

A source with knowledge of the matter told us that the Berlin Service Center won’t (at least initially) be used to support Rivian consumer EVs, so it looks like the automaker’s focus will be on its client Amazon to start.

That isn’t to say Rivian’s Berlin Service Center or any future footprints in Europe won’t eventually also service passenger EVs… just not anytime soon. Still, an expansion to Europe feels all but guaranteed, just not today. Rivian has plenty on its plate in the US for now.