American electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian has been forced to halt production of its Electric Delivery Van (EDV) due to a shortage of parts.
Rivian, which made a name for itself with its R1T electric ute and R1S electric SUV, also designed and developed an electric delivery van in collaboration with online shopping megalith and investor Amazon, which started using the vans in early 2021.
Rivian announced in mid-2023 that it would begin making the EDV available to other customers in the market, but the company – like other pure-play electric vehicle manufacturers – has been struggling with supplier shortages that have caused a number of other companies to go belly-up, and even caused difficulties for giants like Tesla.
In an email to Reuters reported on Friday of last week, a Rivian spokesperson said the company has been forced to temporarily suspend production of its commercial delivery vans.
“A part shortage has temporarily impacted our Electric Delivery Van (EDV) production,” the spokesperson said in the statement to Reuters. “We expect to recover all missed production.”
Rivian did not specify what part or parts were causing the shortage and also declined to comment on when production had been halted nor when or whether it had already resumed.
However, the shortage of parts has reportedly not affected Rivian’s other vehicles, including the R1S SUV and R1T pickup models.
Amazon told Reuters that it was aware of Rivian’s “short-term production issues” but did not expect the production delay to have an impact.
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.