California-based EV manufacturer Rivian, maker of two of today’s most anticipated electric vehicles – the R1T electric pickup truck and R1S electric SUV – said this week it had produced a little over 2,500 vehicles at its Illinois manufacturing plant.
However, it has delivered less than half of them, with 1,227 vehicles were handed over to customers during the first quarter of 2022.
It has been a topsy-turvy for few months for Rivian, after its stunning debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange in November which saw it end its first day of trading as the sixth most valuable carmaker.
Since then, the company’s stock price has tumbled, dropping 75% from its opening day high due in part to low production levels and little sign of profit, despite significant demand for its R1T electric pickup truck/ute and R1S electric SUV.
Rivian announced in December that it would commit another $US5 billion to build a second development and manufacturing facility, this time in the US state of Georgia, which would be capable of building 400,000 EVs a year.
This would be a significant increase on the company’s current production facility in Normal, Illinois, which boasts an annual production capacity of only 150,000.
While not all of Rivian’s problems have been self-inflicted – the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made havoc out of a world only just finding its feet after the global COVID-19 pandemic – the company recently initiated a hefty price-hike on existing and future reservation holders, only to immediately walk back the decision after an unruly customer backlash and mass order cancellations.
At the time, the decision drew comment from Tesla boss Elon Musk, who said on Twitter that, “Their negative gross margin will be staggering.”
Given that, at the end of October, Rivian boasted North American pre-orders for the R1T electric ute and R1S electric SUV of 55,400, the massive cancellation of orders was a wake-up call for the company, despite the continuing high component costs and ongoing supply chain issues which necessitated the price hike to begin with.
Production remains sluggish, though, with the company announcing on Tuesday that it had produced 2,553 vehicles at its manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois, over the first quarter, and delivered 1,227 vehicles during the same period.
In 2021, it produced 1,015 vehicles, and delivered 920 of them, after two years of COVID-19 related delays.
“These figures are in line with the company’s expectations,” the company stated in a press release, “and it believes it is well-positioned to deliver on the 25,000 annual production guidance provided during its fourth-quarter earnings call on March 10, 2022.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.