Cold reflections in the heat What is Rivian's future prospects?

Compared to the soaring stock price after the IPO, the US electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has been in trouble recently, but this is not surprising considering the volatility of electric vehicle startups. Tesla, for example, was on the verge of bankruptcy a few years ago, but in October last year it became the first automaker with a market value of $1 trillion, far surpassing traditional car companies such as Toyota and Volkswagen.

"As the scale increases and production increases, Rivian may continue to encounter some difficulties, but I believe there will always be a solution." Brinley said that in the automotive industry, it takes time to build a mass production enterprise.

"We will eventually employ more than 7,500 workers and take a critical step towards aggressively expanding capacity to produce the next generation of products." Electric vehicle maker Rivian said recently. However, with the delay in the delivery of its passenger cars and the entry of some traditional car companies into the electric commercial vehicle market, Rivian is currently facing a great test.

Image source: Screenshot of the official website

Earlier this year, Stellantis announced that from 2023, Amazon would be the first customer of its new Ram ProMaster electric van, which is in direct competition with Rivian. Amazon is Rivian's biggest customer, with its first order for 100,000 units expected to be delivered by 2025.

In addition, Rivian said at the end of December last year that it would postpone the delivery of R1T and R1S SUVs equipped with range-extended power until 2023. Last week, Rivian also disclosed a production of 1,015 units in 2021, below its target of 1,200 units, and confirmed the departure of Chief Operating Officer Rod Copes.

While Rivian said Cops' departure was within expectations, Rivian shares fell to around $78 at the time of the IPO last week, hit by a series of events. By comparison, Rivian's stock soared to a high of $172 in mid-November.

Rivian has been in trouble lately compared to its soaring stock price since the IPO, but given the volatility of EV startups, that's no surprise. Tesla, for example, was on the verge of bankruptcy a few years ago, but in October last year it became the first automaker with a market value of $1 trillion, far surpassing traditional car companies such as Toyota and Volkswagen.

Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com, said: "Rivian's performance is still positive in the long run, but it's also a good example of a new automaker's fate going up and down, or at least looking like it."

Rivian said in mid-December that in addition to Amazon's van orders, the company had 71,000 customer orders for R1T and R1S. Rivian said the current Plant in Normal, Illinois, plans to produce 200,000 cars a year; In the near future, the plant in Georgia will also be put into production.

"For the last 12 years, we've been preparing for customer delivery and it's well worth it to see people getting excited and enthusiastic about the product we're building." Rivian said.

"Rivian still has a long way to go, but seems ready." Stephanie Brinley, principal analyst at IHS Markit, said Amazon's order with Stellantis doesn't necessarily threaten Rivian because it needs multiple partners to achieve its zero-emissions goal. In addition, consumer interest in Rivian does not seem to have been affected.

"As the scale increases and production increases, Rivian may continue to encounter some difficulties, but I believe there will always be a solution." Brinley said that in the automotive industry, it takes time to build a mass production enterprise. (Compiled by Jiang Zhiwen, China Economic Network)