Rivian Explores US Lidar Production with Chinese Firm

SAN FRANCISCO Rivian Automotive CEO RJ Scaringe said Tuesday the electric vehicle maker is exploring production of its own low-cost lidar sensors in the United States, potentially through a partnership with a Chinese firm, as part of its push into autonomous driving technology.

Scaringe, speaking in an interview here, said the company aims to "structurally ingest" Chinese solid-state lidar technology while keeping sensor costs in the low hundreds of dollars. He noted that early lidar development occurred in the United States, but today's affordable, high-performance versions emerged primarily from China, with companies like Hesai Group and RoboSense dominating the market for compact units suitable for consumer vehicles.

The consideration comes amid national security concerns raised by U.S. lawmakers over direct purchases from Chinese suppliers, prompting automakers to seek alternatives. Rather than abandon lidar, Rivian is in active discussions with lidar firms about domestic manufacturing, possibly via a joint venture. Scaringe indicated interest from other automakers in shared production capacity in the United States or elsewhere outside China. "A number of different car...