For a while, it was all looking so good. Rivian showed evidence of solid growth in the first three quarters of 2023 only for a disappointing fourth quarter to spoil the fun and send the EV firm’s share price tumbling.
The final few months of last year weren’t a total disaster for Rivian. Production actually climbed 7.5 percent from the previous quarter to 17,541, pushing annual production to 57,232 against a predicted 54,000. Not exactly huge numbers, but at least they were moving in the right direction. Looking at the number of vehicle deliveries, though, paints a different picture. They actually fell 10 percent from Q3 to Q4 to 13,972.
EVs at various price levels are finding it harder to snare buyers than they once were because of higher interest rates leading to higher finance costs and general customer concern over charging infrastructure and residual values. But Rivian had the added headache of Tesla launching its Cybertruck in November.
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And though anyone wanting a Cybertruck faces a long wait, you can be sure that the Tesla’s transition from borderline vaporware to production reality has caused a few people considering a Rivian to reconsider – and will continue to do so through 2024. A lack of deliveries of its commercial van line to Amazon also affected the December tally, Reuters reports.
The news wasn’t exactly warmly received by the financial markets, Rivian’s shares falling on the announcement. And just to compound the brand’s misery, its Tesla rival also posted delivery figures for the final quarter of 2023 that showed it had exceeded market expectations. Tesla delivered a record number of vehicles in the fourth quarter and hit its 2023 target of 1.8 million units.