Rivian expects to meet 2022 production goals

Supply chain issues are largely resolved, CEO tells analysts.

Electric vehicle startup Rivian, which is planning a $5 billion plant in Georgia, said Wednesday the company is moving past the worst of its supply chain issues and will meet its current production goals of 25,000 trucks, SUVS and vans this year.

Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said suppliers have improved their output of computer chips and the co m pany believes it will soon start a second shift at its first fac- tory in Illinois.

“Where we stand today, a lot of those other challenges have been resolved,” Scar- inge told analysts during the company’s first-quarter earn- ings call. “We’ve worked with

those suppliers to ramp (up) their production.”

The Irvine, C alifor- nia-based company also said it expects to launch its future Georgia factory with production of a new SUV model, known as the R2, starting in 2025.

Rivian reported about $17 billion in cash on hand at the end of the first quarter, and Scaringe said the company expects to be able to launch the new model with the cash it has. The future R2 model will be “a more accessibly priced midsized SUV targeting global markets,” according to Rivian’s first quarter shareholder letter.

Rivian confirmed plans in December to build an assembly plant and battery factory on about 2,000 acres along I-20 in southern Walton and Morgan counties, about an hour east of Atlanta. Rivian has said it will build trucks, SUVS, delivery vans and batteries on site.

Rivian reported revenue of $95 million in the first quarter and a net loss of $1.6 billion. As a startup, Rivian is likely to burn cash until it is able to increase production.

The company built 2,553 vehicles in the first quarter and has built about 5,000 total since starting production. To reach 25,000 this year, the company will have to significantly boost output.