Electric ute and SUV maker Rivian stunned investors on its first day of trading on the tech-focussed Nasdaq, with a surge in its share price valuing it above that of venerated car makers such as General Motors, Ford and BMW.
Tesla, of course, sits on the top of the list with a market cap of more than $US1 trillion, more than most of its nearest rivals put together.
But Rivians’s closing day valuation of just under $US100 billion, more than one of its key investors Ford, simply adds more weight to the scale and pace of the transition to elecrtric vehicles.
The Rivian IPO is the biggest in 2021, and said to be the bivgest since Facebook.
It originally priced the shares in a range of $US57 to $US62, then to a range of $US72 to $US74, and then to $US78. But the first shares actually changed hands for $US106.75, more than a third above the offer price before closing at $US100.73 with a market valuation of close to $US100 billion ($A137 billion).
It now ranks behind Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, BYD and Daimler – and ahead of industry giants GM, Ford, BMW, and Stellantis – and it has only just started delivering first vehicles to customers.
The startup, which formed in Michigan and first wowed eventgoers three years ago at the 2018 LA Auto Show, commenced deliveries of its limited first edition rough-and-ready R1T electric ute in September (mostly to its own staff), and deliveries of its counterpart R1S SUV are expected to commence in December.
The EV maker has gained considerable backing from major companies including the likes of retail giant Amazon, Ford, and global investment firm T.Rowe price, and also has an order for 100,000 electric vans from Amazon.
It has had the advantage of becoming the first-mover with an all-electric drivetrain on the utility truck market, a segment that is hugely popular in the US as well as in Australia.
Pundits, however, note that with an equally big asking price, the $US73,00 ($A99,970 converted) R1T may face challenges when the cheaper Tesla Cybertruck (which was slated to start at $US39,900, or $A54,765 converted, before the EV maker deleted the online price) and Ford F-150 Lightning – which is $US42,000 ($A57,520) in its cheapest commercial configuration – hit the market.
But the R1T and its counterpart the R1S electric SUV may win through in style and function: first and foremost aimed at adventurers and off-roaders, there are a slew of cool features and gadgets on offer to satisfy roadtrippers from pull-out kitchens, gear tunnel, the ability to wade through a metre of water and loads of pulling power just for a start.
Although two of these vehicles have arrived in Australia and a local launch has been strongly indicated several times by the company, a firm local launch date has not yet been confirmed although it will apparently start selling to non-US customers in 2023.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.