Irvine-based Rivian loses $1.7B

Electric truck startup is slowed by supply chain woes but says it is making progress

Rivian, the fledgling electric vehicle manufacturer in Irvine, said Thursday that it lost $1.7 billion in the second quarter and estimated that it would make just over 26,000 vehicles this year, about a thousand more than it previously forecast.

The company said it was continuing to struggle to get enough components to ramp up production to higher levels.

“Supply chain continues to be the limiting factor of our production,” the company said in a statement. “However, through close partnership with our suppliers we are making progress.” Rivian also said it expected to add a second shift of production toward the end of the third quarter.

Rivian said it generated $364million in revenue in the three months from April to June, up from $95 million in the first three months of the year. It also said it had customer reservations for 98,000 vehicles at the end of June.

Rivian said last month that it produced 4,401 vehicles in the second quarter, and delivered 4,467 to customers.

Rivian was once viewed as “the next Tesla,” an electric-vehicle maker poised to grow rapidly and unsettle century-old giants of the auto industry like Ford Motor, General Motors and Volkswagen. It planned to make an electric pickup and SUV — models that would set it apart from the minimalist electric cars Tesla produces.

The company gained billions of dollars in backing from investors including Ford and Amazon, which announced it intended to buy 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian.

Rivian’s initial public offering was the largest of 2021, and within a few days its stock price soared. For a time, the company’s market value was greater than that of Ford and General Motors combined.

But difficulty in sourcing critical computer chips and manufacturing troubles at its plant in Normal, Illinois, kept production far below what the company had hoped for. It has also struggled to build delivery vans for Amazon. Rivian’s stock price plummeted and investors remain concerned about the company’s prospects.

Now, as production is climbing, it faces a tougher competitive landscape.

Ford has started making an electric pickup, the F-150 Lightning, which is likely to pass Rivian in sales by the end of the year.

Ford, Volkswagen, Hyundai and several others have ramped up sales of electric SUVS, and GM has said it will start selling an electric version of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup and a pair of electric SUVS next year.

Buyers of some of Rivian’s vehicles are also expected to soon lose access to a federal tax credit under the climate bill that the House is expected to approve today; the Senate passed it Sunday.

Under the bill, purchases of vans, SUVS and pickups that sell for more than $80,000 will not qualify for tax credits. The credits will also not be available to individuals or couples who earn more than $150,000 or $300,000 a year.

Rivian said last month that it was laying off about 6% of its 11,500 employees. “To fully realize our potential, our strategy must support our sustainable growth as we ramp towards profitability,” the company’s chief executive, R.J. Scaringe, said in a letter to employees.

“We need to be able to continue to grow and scale without additional financing in this macro environment.”

DAVID KASNIC — THE NEW YORK TIMES An electric delivery van, custom-made by Rivian for Amazon, at its unveiling in Chicago on July 21. The maker of electric pickup trucks, vans and sport-utility vehicles increased its production forecast for the year, but only slightly.