by Rivian (RIVN) – Get the Class A report from Rivian Automotive, Inc was scared but the electric vehicle manufacturer made it well.
The young manufacturer of electric SUVs and pickups has just cleared up some of the many doubts that hang over its short-term future.
California-based company Irvine has confirmed its production target of 25,000 vehicles in 2022, despite supply chain disruptions, chip shortages and rising commodity prices. These problems have made it difficult to increase production rates.
“Based on the most recent understanding of the supply chain environment, we confirm the annual guidance provided during the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2021, 25,000 total production units,” the company said in a letter to its shareholders.
As of May 9, the automaker has produced ~ 5,000 vehicles.
“The supply chain continues to be the bottleneck of our production. This challenge continued in a small handful of technical components such as semiconductors, as well as some non-semiconductor components,” Rivian explained.
An affordable mid-size electric SUV
“As of March 31, 2022, we had to stop production for longer periods than expected, resulting in the loss of about a quarter of the planned production time due to supplier constraints.”
However, “it is encouraging as we demonstrate our production ramp, our suppliers lean in to help ensure we can achieve our goals,” the company added.
Rivian
Rivian also said it closed the first quarter with $ 17 billion in cash, which seems to be enough to drive an affordable mid-size SUV, R2, to a new plant.
“We have optimized our product roadmap and related operating costs to ensure we have a path to launch R2 in Georgia in 2025 with our current cash on hand,” the company explained.
Rivian signed an agreement with the authorities of the US state of Georgia in early May. The deal will allow the auto industry to accelerate the construction of a $ 5 billion plant east of Atlanta. This will be the second vehicle production site for the company after Normal, Ill.
Construction is scheduled to begin this summer, with the first vehicles expected to leave the line in 2024. Once construction is complete, the facility will be able to produce up to 400,000 vehicles a year.
Scroll to continue
The deal will also give Rivian, which was founded in 2009 and went public in 2021, $ 1.5 billion in public subsidies from Georgia. The automaker currently produces three vehicles at its Normal plant: the R1T electric pickup, the R1S electric SUV and the RCV electric commercial truck.
As of May 9, Rivian had recorded more than 90,000 net R1T pre-orders from consumers in the US and Canada, including 10,000 pre-orders from its price increases in March, with an average price above $ 93,000, the company said.
These figures show that demand for Rivian vehicles remains strong.
Ford sells, Soros buys
Shares of Rivian, which had lost 78% of its value at $ 22.79 since January before the announcement on May 11, have since gained 29.61% at $ 26.70 in two sessions.
This, however, did not stop Ford (φά) – Get the Ford Motor Company report, one of Rivian ‘s major shareholders, from the sale of additional shares. In a document filed with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission on the night of May 13, the old-fashioned automaker said it had sold 7 million shares of Rivian shares on the same day for $ 26.88. Ford now owns only 86.95 million shares of Rivian.
This is the second time in less than a week that Ford has sold shares of Rivian. On May 9, the car giant sold 8 million shares of Rivian for $ 26.90.
Following the rise in value in 2021, Ford’s share of the Rivian fell sharply in January, causing huge losses for the automaker. Ford’s stake in Rivian was valued at $ 5.1 billion on March 31, down from half of $ 10.6 billion at the end of 2021, the company said.
Ford rivals Rivian with its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup.
Rivian
If Ford sells, other Rivian shareholders will continue to trust it. This is the case with e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) – Get the Amazon.com, Inc. reportwhich maintains its share of 17.74% intact as at 31 December.
“Rivian is an important partner for Amazon and we are excited about the future,” a spokesman said in an email. “Putting 100,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030 is no small feat and we remain committed to working with Rivian to make it a reality.”
Legendary investor George Soros also gave Rivian a big sign of confidence. Indeed, Soros Fund Management has increased its stake in the car group.
The company held nearly 20 million Rivian shares – 19,835,761 – as of December 31, valued at $ 2 billion. However, as of March 31, Soros Fund Management has bought just over 6 million additional shares of Rivian – 6,045,000 – according to a May 13 filing with the SEC.
In total, the billionaire’s fund holds just over 25.88 million shares of Rivian stock, valued at just over $ 691 million at Rivian’s share price, which closed May 13.
