Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Rivian
The information swirling around in the rumor mill proved to be correct, as Rivian has just confirmed that it's taking over Swedish mapping company Iternio.
While the parent company's name might not say much to most people, the name of its app surely does, as Iternio is the maker of A Better Routeplanner, the world's leading EV trip planning solution.
With ABRP, EV owners can plan their routes, add charging stops, and make sure they reach their destination without worrying about running out of battery. ABRP was specifically designed to address range anxiety, so Rivian is now bringing the app's best features right into its vehicles.
Before detailing how Rivian will integrate ABRP into its offering, here's something that many people are certainly interested in figuring out. The carmaker won't kill off the application, so it'll continue to be available separately. In other words, ABRP will still be available for any other EV owner out there, no matter the car or brand they bought.
Rivian and Iternio will work together on improving ABRP and keeping it a stand-alone application for every EV driver out there, the two companies promised.
The Rivian trip planning, however, will be powered by ABRP. Users will therefore get improved in-vehicle navigation, but Rivian also wants to bring the necessary tools to create trips right in the mobile companion app. Thanks to this feature, its drivers would be able to create their own routes in the mobile application and then send the trip to the navigation system in the car.
The carmaker says that it'll also include trip preferences powered by ABRP, including choosing the charging networks they want to use. The range on arrival will also get additional refinements, once again, thanks to the recently purchased app.
The first phase of the ABRP integration in Rivian vehicles has already started as part of software update 2023.22.00.
Rivian buying ABRP isn't necessarily surprising, as the application was, first and foremost, supposed to help make driving an EV more convenient. On the other hand, I think the most important part of the deal is the one where ABRP will continue to run independently. While the carmaker will help improve features and improve ABRP, the application will still be available for all EV drivers. Rivian says it already has an entire roadmap in mind, so major new features are on their way, but it'll certainly be interesting to see if they'll be released to everybody or if they remain exclusive to its customers.
Iternio also reiterated that ABRP will remain a stand-alone app aimed at "EV drivers for all brands and charger networks." Hopefully, that won't change in the future, especially as the application will probably evolve substantially using Rivian's know-how and development resources.
With ABRP, EV owners can plan their routes, add charging stops, and make sure they reach their destination without worrying about running out of battery. ABRP was specifically designed to address range anxiety, so Rivian is now bringing the app's best features right into its vehicles.
Before detailing how Rivian will integrate ABRP into its offering, here's something that many people are certainly interested in figuring out. The carmaker won't kill off the application, so it'll continue to be available separately. In other words, ABRP will still be available for any other EV owner out there, no matter the car or brand they bought.
Rivian and Iternio will work together on improving ABRP and keeping it a stand-alone application for every EV driver out there, the two companies promised.
The Rivian trip planning, however, will be powered by ABRP. Users will therefore get improved in-vehicle navigation, but Rivian also wants to bring the necessary tools to create trips right in the mobile companion app. Thanks to this feature, its drivers would be able to create their own routes in the mobile application and then send the trip to the navigation system in the car.
The carmaker says that it'll also include trip preferences powered by ABRP, including choosing the charging networks they want to use. The range on arrival will also get additional refinements, once again, thanks to the recently purchased app.
The first phase of the ABRP integration in Rivian vehicles has already started as part of software update 2023.22.00.
Rivian buying ABRP isn't necessarily surprising, as the application was, first and foremost, supposed to help make driving an EV more convenient. On the other hand, I think the most important part of the deal is the one where ABRP will continue to run independently. While the carmaker will help improve features and improve ABRP, the application will still be available for all EV drivers. Rivian says it already has an entire roadmap in mind, so major new features are on their way, but it'll certainly be interesting to see if they'll be released to everybody or if they remain exclusive to its customers.
Iternio also reiterated that ABRP will remain a stand-alone app aimed at "EV drivers for all brands and charger networks." Hopefully, that won't change in the future, especially as the application will probably evolve substantially using Rivian's know-how and development resources.
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