EV startup Rivian Automotive, which has struggled with manufacturing issues since its 2021 launch, delivered 12,640 vehicles in the second quarter, beating analyst estimates and sending its stock price higher.
Rivian produced 13,992 vehicles in the April to June period, including its R1T pickup truck, R1S crossover and EDV delivery vans for Amazon, the company said Monday. Rivian doesn’t break out production or deliveries by model.
The second-quarter numbers were significantly better than the previous quarter when the California-based automaker delivered 7,946 vehicles out of its Normal, Ill., factory and produced 9,395. Rivian had said EDV van production would be reduced in the first quarter as it moved to an in-house electric motor — rather than a supplier unit — for the vans.
Analytics firm Visible Alpha had estimated Rivian’s second-quarter deliveries at 11,000 vehicles, according to Reuters.
Rivian’s battered stock price rose about 17 percent on Monday after posting sales and production numbers. The share price was still down about 85 percent compared with highs after its initial public offering in November 2021.
Rivian’s adventure vehicles are highly regarded by automotive journalists and owners, but the company has cited supply-chain shortages and other manufacturing issues for falling short of its original production forecasts.
Since Rivian doesn’t break out production by model, registration data offers some clues on deliveries of its consumer vehicles.
According to Experian’s data, Rivian was averaging just over 2,300 registrations per month for its R1T and R1S in the first four months of the year. The data does not include EDV vans. May registration data is expected next week.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in May that the production ramp of R1 vehicles was accelerating to meet strong demand.
“All automakers had supply chain issues in 2021 and 2022, but Rivian appears to be turning a corner and their 50k production goal for this year looks highly achievable post the Q2 number,” Needham analyst Chris Pierce told Reuters.
Rivian said it will report second-quarter earnings on Aug. 8 after the market close.
As part of its first-quarter earnings report, Rivian posted a $1.35 billion net loss on revenue of $661 million.
The last time Rivian released its order backlog numbers, in November 2022, the automaker said it had 114,000 preorders in the U.S. and Canada for the R1T pickup and R1S crossover, plus a long-term order from Amazon for 100,000 EDV vans.