Compiled / Zhu Lin
Editor/ Qian Yaguang
Design / Zhao Haoran
Source: CNBC, Autonews, by Michael Wayland
Outside Rivian Motors' plant in central Illinois, founder and CEO R. J. Scalinger (R. J. Scaringe) jumped off the R1T electric pickup when a man shouted, "R. J.!" R. J.！ ”
Scalinger turned, thanked the employee, and shook hands with him.
Recently, the media and Scalinger made a half-day visit to the factory. His fist-shaking, waving and other friendly gestures with employees were all greetings, but they were also a sign of confidence in the CEO's daunting challenges for electric car manufacturers.
Wall Street also praised Scarlinger, who founded Rivian in 2009 and brought it to market through an IPO in November. Most notably, Adam Jonas, chief auto analyst at Morgan Stanley, called Rivian the "only" to be able to compete with Tesla, the leader in the electric car industry.
But Rivian, like other players in the auto industry, is facing massive supply disruptions and has experienced expected but still problematic production disruptions internally, resulting in production falling short of expectations in 2021.
The company's shares fell more than 60 percent in 2022 as investors looked for safer places than electric vehicle startups amid recession fears.
Scalinger is aware of these problems, but remains focused on the task at hand: proving the company's worth by actually producing vehicles. It's an ironic industry differentiator that sets Rivian apart from the new EV startups that have sprung up in recent years. Rivian is currently producing an electric R1T pickup, as well as an Amazon delivery van and an R1S SUV.
Here's what Scalinger thinks about the company's production, parts shortages, and more.
Vendor outage
Scullinger said Rivian remains "very confident" in producing 25,000 vehicles in 2022, including vans and R1 models. This estimate was lower than the initial estimate of about 50,000 vehicles, which was cut due to supplier disruptions.
The shortage of semiconductor chips and wiring harnesses presents the biggest obstacle for the company. Both are key components of the vehicle, and this shortage has been going on in the automotive industry for more than a year.
"The vast majority of our vehicles don't have supply chain restrictions, that's just a small number." Scullinger said, "Only a fraction of the production has been discontinued. ”
Scallinger expects semiconductor supply to not normalize until 2023. Like other executives in the auto industry, he is in regular contact with suppliers to try to find, produce and deliver as many parts as possible.
For Rivian, this includes having some employees at the supplier's facility site trying to assist with production.
"We don't have a need challenge at all." He told the media after visiting the car factory, "We have a supply chain problem. It's frustrating, but we'll get through it. ”
Amazon Van
Rivian declined to say how many Amazon delivery trucks the company has built, but dozens are already outside the factory ready for delivery, and many are being assembled inside.
Electric vans are expected to be an important part of Rivian's development. The first trucks will be shipped to Amazon, and the later will be shipped to other companies Amazon as The largest shareholder in Rivian, owning 20 percent of its shares.
According to Rivian, trucks are producing faster than consumer-grade R1T and R1S vehicles because they have fewer functions and experience fewer processes in the factory. For example, painting a vehicle is a tedious and lengthy process, and the paint work for a van takes two hours less than that of other vehicles.
Victor Taylor, the company's senior director of stamping, bodywork and plastic parts, also noted that vans have less complexity and time in the body shop.
Low-cost electric vehicles
Rivian raised the price of vehicles in March due to rising merchandise costs, much to the disappointment of bookers. The company quickly retracted the price increase for more than 70,000 existing bookers, but said it would keep prices up to date for newers after March 1.
The increased price brings the R1T model starting at $67,500 and the R1S model at $72,500. At these prices, both cars are considered luxury cars, not mainstream models.
Scarlinger said the company plans to produce lower-priced vehicles on next-generation electric vehicle platforms. The vehicles will be produced at the planned Georgia plant, which is expected to enter service in 2024.
Like other automakers, Rivian is said to be planning to maximize profits and improve the performance of existing models.
The end of the fuel car
In Scarlinger's view, this is the beginning of the end of the fuel car. He believed that in his lifetime, the production and sale of such vehicles would come to an end, sooner or later.
Without a definite date set, the end of this era could be closer to 20 years, rather than 50 years, in which companies are forced to stay away from fossil fuels out of necessity and potential pressure from Wall Street and regulators, Scarlinger said.
"Most countries in the world will stop selling cars powered by fuel engines." "The scale of this shift is hard to fully understand," he said. The challenge is whether it is policy-driven. The companies that survive are those that recognize that fuel is ultimately zero. ”
SPAC is available
Rivian is one of the largest number of electric vehicle startups that have gone public in recent years, but its competitors have largely achieved this through deals with Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC). Rivian, on the other hand, conducted a traditional, more straightforward IPO.
Many companies that take the SPAC route face financial problems or receive inquiries from the SEC about their listing transactions or other business matters.
Scarlinger believes that some of these companies will not be competitors for Rivian to worry about for a long time.
"As financial markets move from growth-oriented to more value-oriented, I think a lot of the SPAC and similar companies that are really underfunded are going to slowly start to disappear," he said. They will run out of capital. ”
Dedicated to autonomous driving?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said the car company will build "cars specifically for the Robotaxi." He didn't provide a timeline or any other details, saying only that it would "look futuristic" and be fully autonomous.
Rivian did not announce plans for a similar vehicle, and Scalinger was reluctant to comment directly on the corresponding vehicle. But he said the company would "offer a lot of different products in the future."
Scalinger, who moved from Southern California to the 3.3 million-square-foot factory neighborhood, is known as a bold, level-planner, which usually makes his actions more convincing than his words (or tweets). It's a different style from Musk's, though both are considered extremely detail-oriented and ambitious leaders.
Electric pickup
In 2021, Rivian became the first automaker to start mass-producing pure electric pickups, beating Tesla and longtime leaders in the segment, General Motors and Ford, which hold about 12 percent of Rivian's stake in the market.
GM began delivering its GMC Hummer electric pickup in December, a few months after Rivian launched the R1T. Ford is expected to soon begin delivering an electric version of its F-150 pickup, known as the F-150 Lightning, followed by Tesla's long-delayed Cyberruck, scheduled for production in 2023.
While there are plenty of people who compare the Rivian R1T to other electric pickups, Scalinger isn't bothered by these competitions. He actually welcomes competition, at least for now. He believes that the current demand is enough to meet the production of electric pickup trucks in the short term.
"Humans have a fascination with winners and losers, as if everything in life has to be a zero-sum game. I really don't think so. "I want the Hummer to be a huge success." I really think so. I want "Lighting" to be a huge success, and I want us all to have great success. And I think from a professional honesty standpoint, all three things can happen. ”
This article was originally produced by Automotive Business Review
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