- The EV manufacturer estimates to have built 57,000 vehicles by the end of the year.
- Rivian lost $1.46 billion in the second quarter, a 21% increase from Q2 2023.
- A recent $5 billion joint venture with the VW Group will help Rivian in its path to profitability.
Rivian cut costs during the second quarter but continues to lose money at an alarming rate, leading to a 6% drop in the value of its stock in after-hours trading.
The electric car manufacturer built approximately 23,600 vehicles during the first six months of the year, with 9,162 built in the second quarter. The slow second quarter was caused by downtime at the firm’s factory in Normal, Illinois, which allowed it to retool and reduce costs.
Read: Rivian Most Satisfying Brand, Bests Porsche And Tesla In New J.D. Power Study
According to chief executive RJ Scaringe, product and manufacturing efficiency improvements will allow Rivian to cut the material costs of its current vehicles by 20% and lead to a 45% reduction in material costs for its upcoming R2 series model. Rivian hopes this will be enough to reassure investors of its long-term stability and its road to profitability.
Rivian lost a total of $1.46 billion in the second quarter, a 21% increase from the $1.2 billion it lost over the same period last year. This comes despite an increased revenue by 3.3% to $1.16 billion, primarily because sales rose by 9% during April-June. Rivian ended Q2 with $5.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents. While this could be considered plenty of cash, it’s a significant fall from the $7.9 billion it had at the end of 2023, Auto News reports.
There’s still a long way to go before Rivian becomes profitable. It lost an average of $32,705 per vehicle delivered in Q2, a small increase from the $32,595 loss it had per vehicle in Q2 2023. Nevertheless, it will continue churning out R1T and R1S models throughout the rest of 2024, and it expects to end the year having built 57,000 units. Scaringe noted deliveries will dip in Q3 as it rebuilds its inventory after April’s plant shutdown.
Key to Rivian’s ambitions to turn into a money-making business is its recent partnership with the VW Group. The two firms will collaborate to form a joint venture developing next-generation electrical architecture and software technology. VW has already made a $1 billion investment in Rivian and is planning to invest a further $4 billion.
