Rivian EDV (Amazon Delivery Van) Production Suspended Due to Parts Shortage

[NY_Rob]

Funny how we just got new tires for our BMW i3 and that very specialized tire is only manufactured by one tire manufacturer and in just one plant on the planet.. the tire plant is in Ukraine. We can get tires from a country that's at war with Russia, but Rivian has a parts shortage? Someone's not trying hard enough or something else is going on.

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[Riviot]

Funny how we just got new tires for our BMW i3 and that very specialized tire is only manufactured by one tire manufacturer and in just one plant on the planet.. the tire plant is in Ukraine. We can get tires from a country that's at war with Russia, but Rivian has a parts shortage? Someone's not trying hard enough or something else is going on.

It's all about contracts; Rivian (and the majority of European manufacturers) received wiring harnesses and other parts from plants in Ukraine. They all had to pivot to plants in Mexico, which took time to ramp up production for each specialized harness. With the chips shortage, it was a contributor to delayed production of all vehicles.

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...rts-flow-wire-harnesses-carmakers-2022-03-02/

 

[Riviot]

TO BE CLEAR: I don't think they're for sale--they're just being stored there. I don't know if they act as a 3rd party to allocate/hold vehicles until they're ready to be delivered. I'm not 100% sure how they work. And I'm VERY curious.

FWIW: It's the Manheim Auto Auction in Manheim, PA

It just be storage, only an R1S comes up in pre-sale inventory for that location.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

RJ can’t manage a larger company. I’m sticking to my belief over the last year that, until he is pushed out, Rivian will have managerial and long term planning problems.

Absurd

One glance at the lot outside Normal, it's obvious Rivian was building them faster than Amazon could take them and put them into service. Plus, per agreement with Amazon, once built, each is considered delivered. It's Amazon's responsibility to take them out of Normal. This shouldn't be big news, but the market and naysayers will take any excuse to make nothing into something.

Anyway...

Way back at the launch event for the vans, RJ said those share about 70% of parts with R1. Wonder what that figure is now post-refresh. And if the van's architecture was also refreshed. Anyone know?

 

[SASSquatch]

Funny how we just got new tires for our BMW i3 and that very specialized tire is only manufactured by one tire manufacturer and in just one plant on the planet.. the tire plant is in Ukraine. We can get tires from a country that's at war with Russia, but Rivian has a parts shortage? Someone's not trying hard enough or something else is going on.

Hello fellow i3 owner!

David Tracy runs a blog where he talks a lot about how much he loves his i3 (he recently found and bought a 2021 Galvanic Gold i3s).

Do you have an i3 or and i3s? Recently people with i3s vehicles have been fitting 195 55R20s in place of the 195 50R20s in the rear and the 175 55r20s up front. It increases the ride height some and probably takes a few miles off the range, but they fit!

You can get the Momo Toprun M300 for like $57 a tire.

You can read more at his blog.

https://www.theautopian.com/how-my-...e-achilles-heel-saving-me-thousands-on-tires/

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

Absurd

One glance at the lot outside Normal, it's obvious Rivian was building them faster than Amazon could take them and put them into service. Plus, per agreement with Amazon, once built, each is considered delivered. It's Amazon's responsibility to take them out of Normal. This shouldn't be big news, but the market and naysayers will take any excuse to make nothing into something.

Anyway...

Way back at the launch event for the vans, RJ said those share about 70% of parts with R1. Wonder what that figure is now post-refresh. And if the van's architecture was also refreshed. Anyone know?

Huh? I don’t think you have followed car production very closely. Automakers constantly line lots with cars that looked finished, but are awaiting parts so they cannot be released. Same here. In 2021 there were thousands of Broncos in Ford lots. They all looked finished but were waiting on chips. It wasn’t because customers were not buying; there was a huge line of customers.

There are been 0 indication that Amazon has been slow in taking delivery. Amazon has every incentive to take delivery asap due to their stake in Rivian.

Just facts man.

 

[VSG]

There are been 0 indication that Amazon has been slow in taking delivery. Amazon has every incentive to take delivery asap due to their stake in Rivian.

Just facts man.

Again, absurd.

This has been going on for years. It seems that YOU aren't the one following things.

Amazon initially wanted 100k and exclusivity until 2030.
RJ wanted to fulfill the 100k order by 2025 and planned for that. There are public statements by RJ going back years to this effect.
RJ built out the factory with the planned capacity of 85k vans a year hoping he could get Amazon to take them. Again, well known and reported in SEC filings about their plant capacity and run rates.
Amazon declined to accelerate delivery. Rivian subsequently re-tooled the factory to reduce the EDV capacity (to 65k max) and increase the R1 capacity, in response to demand.

Back in early 2023 Amazon publicly announced it was slowing down its acquisition of vans, while reiterating that it still wanted 100k but on a longer time line. Amazon has repeatedly said since then it still wants 100k.

In response, Rivian started pushing for an early end to exclusivity, since it was able to manufacture far more vans than Amazon wanted, and since Rivian sees this as a major market opportunity.

In late 2023 Rivian got Amazon to agree to ending the exclusivity clause, which was a huge win for Rivian. Rivian is now free to sell to other companies, and has a number of large companies currently testing the EDV to see if it fills their needs.

Rivian has even moved to producing these vans for Rivian Mobile Service. If they were unable to supply all of Amazon's needs as you claim, why are they making so many vans for other uses?

ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE WELL-DOCUMENTED in press releases from Amazon and Rivian, and from c-suite statements in earnings calls and SEC filings.

It is very clear that there is no shortage of completed vans - they are giving Amazon vans as fast as Amazon will take them, and they are trying to find uses / buyers for all the excess vans they produce. They keep making more than they need because they want to keep the line going and the people employed to be ready for the (imminent) next contract with a large fleet customer.

The vans are a large part of the business plan, and Rivian has been pivoting pretty effectively to make them an even larger part of the business.

Amazon has every incentive to take delivery asap due to their stake in Rivian.

Amazon has already made a shit-ton of money off their investment, and will continue to profit regardless of how fast they take delivery. One thing they will NOT do is to reduce their 100k commitment, but they've clearly never been in a rush to do that before the original 2030 agreement date.

And BTW, this is a PUBLIC COMPANY. They are obligated to disclose many things. When they have R1 vehicles sitting in the lot because of missing components, they HAVE disclosed this fact. And this whole thread is because they disclosed a recent part shortage with EDVs. Rivian isn't hiding anything here, and there is absolutely NO evidence or reason to believe that they've had a component shortage for years and have been covering it up. That's just absurd.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

Again, absurd.

This has been going on for years. It seems that YOU aren't the one following things.

Amazon initially wanted 100k and exclusivity until 2030.
RJ wanted to fulfill the 100k order by 2025 and planned for that. There are public statements by RJ going back years to this effect.
RJ built out the factory with the planned capacity of 85k vans a year hoping he could get Amazon to take them. Again, well known and reported in SEC filings about their plant capacity and run rates.
Amazon declined to accelerate delivery. Rivian subsequently re-tooled the factory to reduce the EDV capacity (to 65k max) and increase the R1 capacity, in response to demand.

Back in early 2023 Amazon publicly announced it was slowing down its acquisition of vans, while reiterating that it still wanted 100k but on a longer time line. Amazon has repeatedly said since then it still wants 100k.

In response, Rivian started pushing for an early end to exclusivity, since it was able to manufacture far more vans than Amazon wanted, and since Rivian sees this as a major market opportunity.

In late 2023 Rivian got Amazon to agree to ending the exclusivity clause, which was a huge win for Rivian. Rivian is now free to sell to other companies, and has a number of large companies currently testing the EDV to see if it fills their needs.

Rivian has even moved to producing these vans for Rivian Mobile Service. If they were unable to supply all of Amazon's needs as you claim, why are they making so many vans for other uses?

ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE WELL-DOCUMENTED in press releases from Amazon and Rivian, and from c-suite statements in earnings calls and SEC filings.

It is very clear that there is no shortage of completed vans - they are giving Amazon vans as fast as Amazon will take them, and they are trying to find uses / buyers for all the excess vans they produce. They keep making more than they need because they want to keep the line going and the people employed to be ready for the (imminent) next contract with a large fleet customer.

The vans are a large part of the business plan, and Rivian has been pivoting pretty effectively to make them an even larger part of the business.


Amazon has already made a shit-ton of money off their investment, and will continue to profit regardless of how fast they take delivery. One thing they will NOT do is to reduce their 100k commitment, but they've clearly never been in a rush to do that before the original 2030 agreement date.

And BTW, this is a PUBLIC COMPANY. They are obligated to disclose many things. When they have R1 vehicles sitting in the lot because of missing components, they HAVE disclosed this fact. And this whole thread is because they disclosed a recent part shortage with EDVs. Rivian isn't hiding anything here, and there is absolutely NO evidence or reason to believe that they've had a component shortage for years and have been covering it up. That's just absurd.

Yes I’ve read it all. I’m an early investor, and I only invest in businesses I understand.

RJ made a bad 10 year deal. He asked to get out of it and failed. He got lucky because Amazon eventually also wanted to change the deal.

RJ cannot plan well. Hence shuttering plans for a factory he went all in on.

He also cannot keep SCs in efficient shape. That’s why when you test drive a Rivian in the Bay Area, employees tell you that, if you cannot deal with long waits on m service, get another car. Doesn’t make me happy to hear that as a shareholder.

RJ is net drag on Rivian. Rivian’s potential will be unlocked when he is out.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Just facts man

The facts are Rivian got Amazon to break the exclusivity agreement way early due to Amazon not taking enough vans and Rivian being able to overproduce them.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

The facts are Rivian got Amazon to break the exclusivity agreement way early due to Amazon not taking enough vans and Rivian being able to overproduce them.

What does it say about your company when your main investor, who uses an insane amount of vans, doesn’t want your van.

Something ain’t right…

 

[Zoidz]

..
There are been 0 indication that Amazon has been slow in taking delivery. Amazon has every incentive to take delivery asap due to their stake in Rivian.

Just facts man.

Yes I’ve read it all. I’m an early investor, and I only invest in businesses I understand.
...

What does it say about your company when your main investor, who uses an insane amount of vans, doesn’t want your van.

Something ain’t right…

No, you clearly haven't read it all, and don't understand the business logistics required to deploy an EV fleet. It's been documented several times and discussed here that Amazon slowed delivery - and it has nothing to do with "your main investor doesn't want your van". That's quite an imagination you got going there.

Amazon has stated publicly that things are going slowly because the challenges of building out the charging infrastructure are much greater and take longer than expected.

Charged EV Fleet & Infrastructure News - Jan 17, 2024

Amazon finds utility approvals to be the biggest EV charging infrastructure bottleneck
Building the trucks appears to have been the easy part. Amazon and Rivian took only two years to progress from an idea to putting trucks on the streets—an impressive feat indeed. But deploying EV charging stations at a single warehouse—a far easier task from a technical standpoint—can take a year or more. One site in Seattle took 18 months.

Amazon claims to have deployed 12,000 EV charging stations around the world, and it has found that slogging through the permits, approvals and logistics of installing the power lines and infrastructure is by far the hardest part of the process—installing the actual chargers is far easier.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

No, you clearly haven't read it all, and don't understand the business logistics required to deploy an EV fleet. It's been documented several times and discussed here that Amazon slowed delivery - and it has nothing to do with "your main investor doesn't want your van". That's quite an imagination you got going there.

Amazon has stated publicly that things are going slowly because the challenges of building out the charging infrastructure are much greater and take longer than expected.

Charged EV Fleet & Infrastructure News - Jan 17, 2024

Amazon finds utility approvals to be the biggest EV charging infrastructure bottleneck
Building the trucks appears to have been the easy part. Amazon and Rivian took only two years to progress from an idea to putting trucks on the streets—an impressive feat indeed. But deploying EV charging stations at a single warehouse—a far easier task from a technical standpoint—can take a year or more. One site in Seattle took 18 months.

Amazon claims to have deployed 12,000 EV charging stations around the world, and it has found that slogging through the permits, approvals and logistics of installing the power lines and infrastructure is by far the hardest part of the process—installing the actual chargers is far easier.

We need to be objective here. Amazon trimmed back the Rivian deal and then struck one the same year in 2023 with Stellantis to buy their electric Ram ProMaster.

So they are buying trucks. Just not from Rivian.

 

[Zoidz]

We need to be objective here. Amazon trimmed back the Rivian deal and then struck one the same year in 2023 with Stellantis to buy their electric Ram ProMaster.

So they are buying trucks. Just not from Rivian.

You're not being objective, lol, so I'll spell it out for you.

1. Amazon needs to replace vehicles due to wear and tear on an ongoing, scheduled, predictable basis.
2. Amazon planned on replacing those vehicles with EDVs and developed a plan with Rivian
3. Amazon discovers they can't build out their charging infrastructure as quickly as Rivian can build vehicles.
4. Amazon slows deliveries from Rivian because of Amazon's EV infrastructure struggle.
5. Amazon needs to replace vehicles that are End Of Life, so they buy ICE vehicles from other manufacturers, at no fault of Rivian.

That's being objective.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

As usual... Conflating opinion (and personal impressions) with expertise. Documented facts are just too inconvenient to be paid attention to. No productive conversations could be had with such individuals. They are just here to stir the pot for petty amusement.

 

[NY_Rob]

Hello fellow i3 owner!

David Tracy runs a blog where he talks a lot about how much he loves his i3 (he recently found and bought a 2021 Galvanic Gold i3s).

Do you have an i3 or and i3s? Recently people with i3s vehicles have been fitting 195 55R20s in place of the 195 50R20s in the rear and the 175 55r20s up front. It increases the ride height some and probably takes a few miles off the range, but they fit!

You can get the Momo Toprun M300 for like $57 a tire.

You can read more at his blog.

https://www.theautopian.com/how-my-...e-achilles-heel-saving-me-thousands-on-tires/

i3REX owner, and truth be told... between the R1T, Model 3 and the i3, the i3 is my favorite daily driver. BMW did so many things right on the i3 it's just a pleasure to drive around town. Costco was pretty reasonable for the tires, this car only gets driven one or two days a week, and all local stuff so the new tires should last several years at least

Interesting fact.. the i3 has non-measurable vampire drain unless you're talking a few months time then you may lose 10-15miles.

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