AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)10/06 Report--

On October 4th, Rivian Automotive, the new force of American car building, released the latest production and sales figures. Data show that in the third quarter of this year, Rivian's manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois, produced 13157 vehicles, down 19.30% from 16304 in the same period last year, and delivered 10018 vehicles, down 35.63% from 15564 in the same period last year.

Rivian said on its website that Rivian was experiencing production disruptions due to a shortage of shared components on R1 and RCV platforms. It is understood that the R1 platform is the basis of RivianR1S electric SUV and R1T electric trucks, while RCV is an important project in cooperation with Amazon to produce skateboard chassis for delivery trucks. The impact of this supply shortage, which began in the third quarter of this year, has become more severe in recent weeks and continues, Rivian said. As a result, Rivian lowered its annual production target from 57000 to 47000 to 49000; its annual delivery target is expected to be 50500 to 52000.

Rivian had expected to produce 57000 vehicles in fiscal 2024, roughly the same as in 2023, but well below analysts' expectations of 80, 000. For comparison, the cumulative production of Rivian in 2023 was 57232 vehicles, and the cumulative delivery of 50122 new cars was significantly lower than market expectations.

Or affected by the above news, Rivian shares fell. As of Oct. 4, Rivian shares closed at $10.440, down more than 3.15%, with a total market capitalization of $10.526 billion.

In June this year, Volkswagen and Rivian launched a joint venture to create a next-generation electrical architecture and state-of-the-art software technology. based on a strategic partnership, Volkswagen plans to invest $5 billion (about 36.3 billion yuan) in Rivian, of which $1 billion (about 7.3 billion yuan) is an immediate investment. The remaining $4 billion (about 29.1 billion yuan) will be added in 2026. In July, the Federal Cartel Office, Germany's antitrust regulator, announced approval for a joint venture, while allowing Volkswagen to acquire a minority stake in Rivian.

According to the financial report, Rivian's revenue in 2023 was $4.434 billion (about 31.896 billion yuan), an increase of 167.4 percent over the same period last year, a record high, but a loss of $5.432 billion (about 39.076 billion yuan). Against a backdrop of lack of money, Rivian announced layoffs in February and April this year to reduce costs. As for Volkswagen Group to invest 5 billion US dollars in Rivian, it is generally believed that the blessing of this fund may alleviate the cash flow pressure that Rivian is currently facing and help its production capacity increase. In other words, Rivian will increase production capacity by using the investment funds to produce low-cost electric models.

In March, Rivian released a new medium-sized platform, which is the foundation of R2 and R3 product lines. Among them, R2 is Rivian's new medium-sized SUV, with a five-seat design, starting at about $45000 (about 323600 yuan), and delivery is expected to begin in the first half of 2026.

It is important to note that according to the latest report, the U.S. Department of Energy documents show that Rivian has applied for a federal loan to build an electric car plant in Georgia. The U.S. Department of Energy has not made a final decision on loans. Rivian had previously suspended plans to build a $5 billion plant in Georgia to give priority to speeding up production of R2 cars and saving cash.

Rivian is still losing money and facing a shortage of funds, but Rivian's situation is only a microcosm of a number of US electric carmakers, including Fisker and Lucid, which have been weak in the car market this year.

As a new power brand in the United States, Rivian was once regarded as Tesla's biggest competitor. however, Rivian's position in the auto market is far inferior to that of Tesla. Industry insiders pointed out that Rivian is now facing not only the challenge of internal supply shortage, but also the squeeze from competitors, including the rapid rise of Ford, Tesla and other new electric vehicle brands have caused some market pressure on Rivian.

Rivian's revenue in the second quarter of this year was $1.158 billion (about 8.285 billion yuan), and its net loss was $1.457 billion (about 10.424 billion yuan), roughly the same as the loss of $1.48 billion in the first quarter, compared with $1.195 billion (about 8.549 billion yuan) in the same period last year, up 21.92 percent from a year earlier, according to the financial report. At the end of the second quarter, Rivian cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $7.867 billion (about 56.283 billion yuan).

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