2022-23 Rivian R1T EV Pickup Earns Top Safety Award

The all-electric Rivian R1T pickup has earned a Top Safety Pick Plus award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for the 2022 and ’23 model years due to its headlights and a strong safety structure.

Related: 2022 Rivian R1T Quick Spin: The First Very Real Electric Pickup

In order for a vehicle to earn a Top Safety Pick Plus award, the vehicle must earn a good or acceptable rating for its headlights across all trim levels (the lower Top Safety Pick only requires one set of headlights to have a good or acceptable rating). Vehicles must also receive good ratings across six crash-test categories: driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint tests. The vehicle must also secure an advanced or superior rating for its front crash prevention system in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian tests.

In the case of the R1T, it managed to achieve the award not only by excelling in all six crash-test categories, but also by offering good-rated LED projector headlights and a front crash prevention system that earned superior ratings in both vehicle-to-vehicle and daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations.

The R1T’s strong showing in these tests also represents a major milestone for upstart electric vehicle makers as they prepare to bring the fight to a growing pool of mainstream automakers that are also entering the EV sector. In addition, the IIHS rating is also welcome news for Rivian as the company navigates rough waters in recent months due mostly in part to a major suspension recall on the R1T and R1S SUV, as well as the cancellation of an alliance between Rivian and Mercedes-Benz in producing EV commercial vans in Europe.

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