Rivian production numbers have remained in the spotlight after the upstart, Ford-backed automaker enjoyed one of the largest IPOs in history, only to watch its stock price plummet as it faces the same struggles affecting other automakers. Rivian’s R1T pickup entered production in September, but the company wound up producing just 1,015 examples by the end of the year, which it blamed on various supply chain issues including the chip shortage. Rivian production improved somewhat early in the year, but now, the automaker has announced that continued supply chain constraints will force it to halve its planned production targets for 2022, according to CNBC.
That means Rivian now expects to produce around 25,000 examples of the R1T and R1S SUV in 2022, while the automaker has taken a total of 83,000 reservations for both vehicles, which is up from 71,000 in December. CEO R.J. Scaringe noted that if not for the supply chain problems the company is facing, it would be able to produce 50,000 vehicles this year at its Normal, Illinois plant.
Regardless, this news – coupled with the fact that the company missed Wall Street’s fourth-quarter earnings expectations – sent Rivian’s stock price tumbling by 13 percent as it hit a new 52-week low at $35.55 yesterday. Regardless, Rivian is moving forward with plans to expand its production by adding a second plant in Georgia, though that site has faced local opposition in recent weeks – and it still had a healthy $18.4 billion in cash on hand at the end of 2021.
Rivian still plans on capturing 10 percent of the overall EV market by 2030, while Ford also plans on keeping its substantial stake in the company in spite of its recent struggles, which included massive price hikes for its models that caused quite the stir among reservation holders, to the point where Rivian walked back that decision somewhat.
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Comments
Plus not a lot of consumers are interested in purchasing something that looks like this. Honestly, this is one of the ugliest vehicles out there. I thought the Nissan Juke was bad. This is worse. I mean, c’mon man. You have the opportunity to create something that could look really nice and you blew it. You think Tesla sold as many vehicles as they did because they were run by batteries? At least I give them credit, their cars are nice looking. The SUV…..not so much.
Sounds more like mismanagement to me, rather then supply chain issues, especially considering all of the other company issues that have come to light recently. This company is going the way of Lordstown.