Rivian boosts sales & profits over Q2

The US electric car manufacturer Rivian was able to significantly increase its sales in the second quarter of 2023 and further reduce its losses. Rivian is also raising its production forecast slightly.

According to the quarterly report now published, Rivian posted revenues of around $1.1 billion (€1.0 billion) from April to June 2023, compared to $661 million in the first quarter of 2023 and $364 million in the same period last year. Rivian’s net loss was approximately $1.2 billion (€1.09 billion) in Q2/2023, compared to $1.3 billion in Q1/2023 and $1.7 billion in Q2/2022.

Notably, Rivian more than halved its loss per vehicle delivered from Q1 to Q2/2023, from $67,329 to$32,595. The company reportedly produced 13,992 electric cars from April to June, up 4,597 from the first quarter. Rivian increased deliveries from 7,946 to 12,640 vehicles.

What was not yet apparent from the production figures published at the beginning of July: For the first time, the manufacturer built more units of the R1S than of the R1T in the second quarter. Rivian had started production of the R1T electric pickup, which was supposedly more in demand. The coming quarters will show whether the somewhat smaller R1S electric SUV can outperform the R1T in the long run.

Rivian is raising its production forecast for the full year 2023 slightly from 50,000 vehicles previously to 52,000 now. In the first half of the year, Rivian has built 23,387 electric cars so far, which is almost 28,600 units away from the raised annual target. So per quarter, Rivian would need to build 14,300 vehicles, with 13,992 cars produced in Q2 alone, this target looks achievable.

“Increasing our production is the primary lever in our path to profitability,” the company writes in the quarterly report. “The incorporation of our in-house drive units has played and will continue to play an instrumental role in improving our production ramp and cost structure.” In Q1, the single-motor variant was integrated into Amazon delivery vehicles, followed by the in-house dual-motor variant for R1 models in Q2.

In an interview with Reuters conducted around the announcement of the half-year figures, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe tried to reassure investors. High competition, the price war triggered by Tesla, difficult supply chains and, last but not least, inflation-related consumer restraint had put some eMobility start-ups under pressure. Lordstown Motors and Proterra have already had to file for bankruptcy in the USA.

Scaringe now stressed that his company was in a “far better position” financially. “The cash balance that we have today takes us through 2025,” Scaringe said. “We will be very thoughtful and intentional on how we secure additional capital to support the growth of the R2 program.” The R2 range is said to be more compact and affordable electric cars, which are expected to debut in 2026. However, the cash balance Scaringe referred to fell by almost $2 billion in Q2 to $9.26 billion (€8.43 billion).

reuters.com, rivian.com (PDF)