Rivian is on the upswing. The electric vehicle maker, hampered by production issues since going public in November 2021, says it’s eyeing commercial partnerships beyond an exclusive deal with Amazon as its supply chain finally bounces back. The firm’s stock surged earlier this week after it reported better-than-expected production and delivery numbers, and Rivian says it’s “in the final stages of negotiating” the ability to sell delivery vans to customers other than Amazon. The e-commerce giant is slated to take delivery of 100,000 Rivian vans by 2030 and says 5,000 are already on the roads.
By Saundra Latham, Editor at LinkedIn News
Rivian has some momentum: both in its production ramp and in its share price. For the company its a case of rebounding from a tough 2022 and start of production. For Rivian’s founder, its about the next phase of a long journey from MIT to being a founder to being the CEO of a publicly traded company.
We spent the day at Rivian in Irvine, California where I sat down with the company’s founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. We discussed where Rivian turned a corner in the second quarter, the state of supply chains and Rivian’s relationship with Amazon.
Some key takeaways:
1) Supply Chain is “running in a healthy way.” RJ reflected on a recent board meeting where the slide on supply chains didnt show any red for the first time.
2) The guidance for this year in 50,000 EVs across R1T, R1S and EDV, but: “[Rivian] want to make sure that we over-deliver on our numbers, over-deliver on our targets,”
3) Rivian is “in the final stages of negotiating, allowing us to sell the vehicle outside of the Amazon relationship to others.”
By EDWARD LUDLOW
The electric car maker Rivian posted record quarterly results, but there is still some work to do to meet its goals for the year.
Rivian produced 13,992 vehicles and delivered 12,640 vehicles in the second quarter of 2023, sharply beating its first-quarter performance.
The electric carmaker plans to complete production of 50,000 vehicles this year, narrowly meeting its 2022 target of 25,000 vehicles.
Rivian’s last-mile delivery van is currently in production for a year, but the electric automaker now faces competition in the pickup truck category.
Rivian got off to a shaky start to the year amid rumors of slowing demand in the EV industry for nearly all its models. The electric car maker has been producing vehicles at its Normal, Illinois, plant since September 2021, and 2022 has been eventful, with supply chain challenges and rising raw material costs.