EV startup Rivian announces production cuts, shares fall to all-time low

• Shares were trading below $100 per share for the first time since it began trading

• Rivian said it expected this year’s production target of 1,200 vehicles to fall “a few hundred vehicles short”

Electric vehicle start-up Rivian Automotive shares tumbled to a new low on Friday after the company announced production cut in 2021.

After the markets closed on Thursday, Rivian said it expected this year’s production target of 1,200 vehicles to fall “a few hundred vehicles short.”

The company said that supply chain issues and challenges in production of batteries impacted the production.

“Ramping up a production system like this, as I said before, is a really complex orchestra,” Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said. 

“We’re ramping largely as expected; the battery constraint is really an artifact of just brining up a highly automated line, and, as I said, it doesn’t present any long-term challenges for us.”

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Shares of Rivian were trading below $100 per share for the first time since it began trading on November 10. Shares fell 15% on Friday to $93 per share.

Rivian performance

The company said total reservation for the electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV increased to 71,000 as of December 15, a jump of 28% since November.

Rivian also reported quarterly results for the first time as a public company and confirmed to open a $5 billion plant in Georgia where production would begin in 2024.

Third-quarter results of Rivian matched Wall Street expectations as the company reported operational loss of $776 million and a net loss of $1.23 billion.

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The company had predicted an operational loss between $745 million and $795 million and a net loss between $1.21 billion and $1.28 billion.

Picture Credits: Reuters