US electric carmaker Rivian saw a significant increase in production and deliveries in the second quarter. The company produced 13,992 electric vehicles from April to June, 4,597 more than in the first quarter. Rivian increased deliveries from 7,946 to 12,640 vehicles.
In percentage terms, Rivian increased its production by 33 per cent and its deliveries by 37 per cent compared to the previous quarter. A year-on-year comparison with Q2 2022 shows the progress even more clearly: at that time, 4,401 Rivian EVs were built at the Normal plant in the US state of Illinois, and 4,467 were delivered. Rivian keeps its comments on the new figures vague: “These figures remain in line with the company’s expectations,” the company reports. And Rivian is convinced that it is on the right track to reach the previously given forecast of 50,000 vehicles per year. After that, Rivian refers to the announcement of its Q2 financial results, which will be released on 8 August.
But to reach the target of 50,000 vehicles built in the current year, announced when the company presented its financial figures 2022, Rivian will have to produce an average of 12,500 cars per quarter. With 9,395 vehicles built in the first quarter, the US company was below this figure.
Nevertheless, the annual target should be well within reach since such a young carmaker can be expected to increase its production rate during the year.
Rivian’s year has been mixed so far. In early March, it was announced that the US start-up would have to recall over 12,700 units of the R1S and R1T (i.e. the entire production until 15 September 2022) as the passenger airbag may not deploy correctly. In mid-April, the company had to recall vehicles again, this time 5,030 units of the R1S electric SUV. The reversing light on these vehicles did not comply with the specifications and had to be replaced.
In addition to increasing production, the company must cut costs, as it lost billions of dollars in 2022. Therefore, there were reports of further job cuts at the beginning of February.
Meanwhile, Rivian is one of the companies that want to install the Tesla charging port in its future electric cars. From 2025, vehicles of the R1 model series and the upcoming R2 platform will have the NACS charging system. Until then, Rivan cars can use the Tesla Supercharger network with an adapter, which the carmaker plans to provide from 2024. And when Rivian vehicles have a Tesla charging port from 2025, an adapter will, in turn, be offered to enable charging at CCS stations.
Keyword: Rivian builds nearly 14,000 EVs in Q2