Rivian’s production is continuing to ramp up this year following an underperformance in 2022.
The company produced 16,304 electric vehicles in the third quarter, according to company results released earlier today. It delivered 15,564 EVs during the same period.
These figures are on par with Rivian’s expectations, the company said in a prepared statement, adding “it believes it is on track” to hit its 2023 production target of 52,000 manufactured vehicles – which includes the R1T pickup truck, the R1S SUV and electric delivery vehicles for Amazon.
Supply-chain issues last year hampered the automotive industry and Rivian was no exception, falling short of its 25,000 units production goal. The company has since eclipsed last year’s numbers by more than 60%, producing close to 40,000 units this year. In total, since Rivian began production in September 2021, 65,031 vehicles have been produced and 57,391 delivered.
Analysts who are bullish on Rivian are lauding the good news.
“It was stronger than expected and it shows the demand story is holding up well despite the macro. For production, which has been the Achilles’ heel of Rivian, the worst has been in the rearview mirror,” said Daniel Ives, a senior analyst for Wedbush Securities. “They’re taking big steps forward but Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s going to take 12 to 18 months and a lot of capital to get the scale that Rivian wants to see.”
“I see a company that has really strengthened their production muscles because of extraneous factors,” Chris Pierce, a senior analyst for Needham, said. “It caused them to look for creative solutions to lower their bill of materials.” These adaptations include Rivian building its own battery packs as well as consolidating the number of computers within its vehicles.
“I don’t think investors are giving Rivian credit for what they’ve been able to accomplish this year,” Pierce added.
Rivian’s shares fell Monday, however, opening at $23.93 before settling at $23.66 by market close.
Rivian’s plant in Georgia, yet to be constructed, will significantly increase the company’s scale of production in addition to its current, lone manufacturing facility in Normal, Ill. The Georgia plant will produce the startup’s R2 line of vehicles, expected to be cheaper and more compact than the R1 line.
“This is a company that could look at a few 100,000 vehicles per year or more as we go into the next few years,” Ives said.
Over the summer, the Georgia Supreme Court rejected to hear an appeal contesting Rivian’s tax breaks for the property of its new plant, giving the company the go-ahead to break ground. Construction of the Georgia plant, east of Atlanta, is expected to begin next year. Production of R2 vehicles is expected to begin in 2026 and the Georgia plant, once fully operational, will have a total annual vehicle production capacity of 400,000 EVs. The Illinois plant has an annual total production capacity of 150,000 EVs.
Rivian also announced that it will release its third-quarter earnings results Nov. 7 after market close.