On October 4, Rivian Automotive, a new EV manufacturer in the United States, released its latest production and sales data. According to the data, in the third quarter of this year, Rivian's manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois, produced a total of 13,157 vehicles, compared with 16,304 vehicles in the same period last year, a decrease of 19.30%; A total of 10,018 vehicles were delivered, down 35.63% from 15,564 in the same period last year.
Rivian said on its website that it is experiencing production disruptions due to supply shortages of shared modules on the R1 and RCV platforms. It is understood that the R1 platform is the basis for the Rivian R1S electric SUV and R1T electric truck, while the RCV is an important project in cooperation with Amazon for the production of skateboard chassis for delivery vans. According to Rivian, the impact of this supply shortage, which began in the third quarter of this year, has become more severe in recent weeks and is still ongoing. As a result, Rivian lowered its annual production target from 57,000 to 47,000 to 49,000 units. The annual delivery target is expected to be between 50,500 and 52,000 vehicles.
Previously, Rivian expected to produce 57,000 vehicles in fiscal 2024, roughly the same as in 2023, but well below analysts' expectations of 80,000. For comparison, the cumulative production of Rivian in 2023 is 57,232 units; The cumulative delivery volume of 50,122 new vehicles was significantly lower than market expectations.
Or on the news, Rivian's stock price is lower. As of October 4, Rivian's stock price closed at $10.440, down more than 3.15%, with a total market capitalization of $10.526 billion.
In June this year, Volkswagen and Rivian launched a joint venture to create a next-generation electrical architecture and best-in-class software technology, based on the strategic partnership plan, Volkswagen Group plans to invest US$5 billion (about 36.3 billion yuan) in Rivian, of which US$1 billion (about 7.3 billion yuan) is an immediate investment, and the remaining US$4 billion (about 29.1 billion yuan) will be added in 2026. In July, Germany's antitrust regulator, the Federal Cartel Office, announced that it had approved the establishment of a joint venture between the two companies, while allowing Volkswagen to acquire a minority stake in Rivian.
According to the financial report, Rivian's revenue in 2023 will be US$4.434 billion (about 31.896 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 167.4%, a record high, but a loss of US$5.432 billion (about 39.076 billion yuan). Against the backdrop of a lack of money, Rivian announced layoffs in February and April of this year to reduce costs. As for Volkswagen Group's investment of US$5 billion in Rivian, the industry generally believes that with the support of this funding, it may alleviate the current cash flow pressure faced by Rivian and help increase its production capacity. In other words, Rivian will use the investment funds to produce low-cost electric models to increase production capacity.
In March, Rivian released its new midsize platform, which is the foundation of the R2 and R3 product lines. Among them, the R2 is Rivian's new mid-size SUV, with a five-seat design, priced from around 45,000 US dollars (about 323,600 yuan), and the car is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2026.
It should be noted that according to the latest reports, United States Department of Energy documents show that Rivian has applied for federal loans seeking to build an electric vehicle factory in Georgia. The United States Department of Energy has not made a final decision on the loan. Rivian had previously suspended plans to build a $5 billion plant in Georgia to prioritize accelerating production of R2 vehicles and saving cash.
Rivian is still out of the red and facing a shortage of funds, but Rivian's situation is only a microcosm of many United States electric vehicle manufacturers, including Fisker and Lucid, which have been weak in the car market this year.
As a new power brand in United States, Rivian was once regarded as Tesla's biggest competitor, however, Rivian's position in the car market is far less than Tesla. Industry insiders pointed out that Rivian is now facing not only internal supply shortages, but also competitors, including Ford, Tesla and other new EV brands, which are putting pressure on Rivian.
According to the financial report, in the second quarter of this year, Rivian's revenue was US$1.158 billion (about 8.285 billion yuan), and the net loss was US$1.457 billion (about 10.424 billion yuan), which was basically the same as the loss of US$1.48 billion in the first quarter, compared with US$1.195 billion (about 8.549 billion yuan) in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 21.92%. As of the end of the second quarter, Rivian's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were US$7.867 billion (approximately RMB56.283 billion).
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