Ever since Android Auto and Apple CarPlay became commonplace, there’s been a quiet war going on between automakers and software companies over control of your in-dash navigation and entertainment experience. Today, Rivian‘s trying something we haven’t seen in the space yet: Running Google Maps, but with a uniquely Rivian skin.
Rivian’s native navigation has been the subject of quite a few complaint threads on Reddit and elsewhere—this should be a welcome update for owners.
This new setup, simply called Rivian Navigation with Google Maps, essentially builds some Rivian and EV-specific features, along with Rivian-style aesthetics, on top of Google Maps’ functionality. As stated by the company’s PR department:
“…we are utilizing the Automotive SDK [Software Development Kit] from Google Maps, which gives manufacturers like Rivian the freedom to build a custom navigation system on top of foundational Google Maps technology and information. It brings together the best of both worlds: over two decades of navigation expertise from Google Maps—and the custom design and EV-friendly navigation features from Rivian that owners love.”
Beyond putting its own design language on Google’s cartography, Rivian’s adding the following EV-specific features, as laid out in a blog post:
- Range on arrival: Rivian takes the guesswork out of EV travel, providing range estimates that are specific to your vehicle and learn as you drive, and factors in whether you’re using accessories, gear, or trailers. And we’ve added the ability for you to choose how you view your range: in percentage, distance, or both.
- Charging stops and preferences: Rivian carefully curates charging stops added to your trips, making sure you get faster trips, better chargers, and special preferences to suit your needs on charging networks, range on arrival, and more.
- Charging information: Rivian brings you real-time data for charging networks compatible with your vehicle, like the Rivian Adventure Network, Tesla Superchargers, and many others.
- Charging score: Rivian’s unique score for individual charging sites based on plug-in data from Rivian vehicles gives you a real-time rundown on how reliable a charging site is and automatically includes the top scoring chargers on your trips.
Owners will also be able to access this stuff through Rivian’s mobile app. The app’s trip-planning functionality now also includes place photos, descriptions, satellite views, and traffic updates. (Though some of that requires a subscription to Connect+, Rivian’s connectivity program, which costs $15 a month or $150 a year.)
Interestingly, Rivian Navigation with Google Maps will not have Google Built-In or voice capabilities as of today’s rollout. It’s somewhat surprising since Google’s been pushing Gemini, accessed through voice, in cars now. But I guess Rivian either couldn’t or didn’t want to work that in yet.
When asked about the absence of voice-control functionality, Wassym Bensaid, Rivian’s Chief Software Officer, told us: “We’re actively working on a holistic in-vehicle voice assistant that offers navigation support and much more,” over email.
The new navigation system is being rolled out via an over-the-air update to all (gen-one and gen-two) R1T pickups and R1S SUVs starting today.
I know at first glance, “Rivian’s gonna run Google Maps but slightly different-looking” doesn’t necessarily sound all that exciting. But this is actually a pretty interesting development in the evolution of automotive software.
In-dash navigation screens started going mainstream around 2005 and were pretty common by 2015. In that era, you’d only use software and interfaces designed by the automaker. That changed big time once Android Auto and Apple CarPlay stepped on the scene. For the following decade, those platforms, and their own navigation apps, have staked a huge claim in car interiors.
Now, different car companies have had different responses to this. Some don’t want to concede any of the user experience to another company, like GM banning Apple CarPlay. Others are doing the opposite—iOS 26 will do a comprehensive dashboard takeover on various vehicles. There are other tactics, too—when I test-drove the BMW X2, the company’s reps were eager to point out that it could run popular apps like Spotify natively within BMW’s UI. Meanwhile, Google Earth is already featured somewhat prominently in some Audis.
But “Google Maps with an automaker-unique skin” is a new one. Seems like a good way to bridge the gap between the car company owning the look but outsourcing the functionality. I’ll be interested to see if more vehicles adopt something similar.
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