Rivian’s U.S. sales fell 34.9% in October (Ouch!)

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Acura ZDX is also based on the same platform.

Yes, but that thing looks like a hearse.

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[Cycliste]

Plus, sticking with the dealer model is a strategic win for Honda and a comfort for buyers, helping ease the transition to electric without the direct-to-consumer challenges that can sometimes bring hesitation.

I have never thought the dealer model was a ‘comfort’ on prior purchases.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I have never thought the dealer model was a ‘comfort’ on prior purchases.

Not to you, but many consumers fear change. Evident in EV adoption rate. Nationally EVs have just hit 9% and 22% here in CA.

 

[dleepnw]

Not surprising. The issue is going to be 2025. Shipping higher priced trims in Tri-Max and Quad-Max will move very, very few incremental units but at a needed pop in ASP.

The real challenge is needing to drop the entry point of R1S to $69,990 to open more buyers. The question is whether they can profitably produce and sell R1S at this price. Otherwise Rivian is stuck in the deep water without a paddle and nowhere to go.

If I were a C-level exec at Rivian I'd put a SWAT team on figuring out how to make this happen. There is a large enough market for 2WD SUV's so dropping a motor, retrimming the interior (cloth over vinyl seats), drop speakers, remove carpeted trunk mat replacing with a hard deck floor and third-row delete might get them close. Think base Land Rover Defender 110. Then they would have a competitive entry that can even nip at the large pool of Honda Pilot/Toyota HIghlander/Acura MDX/BMW X5/Audi Q7 buyers, especially if interest rates drop further.

i agree. they need to have a lower end trim for both the R1T and R1S and get the price/costs down. i was actually expecting that when they were retooling the factory earlier this year and prepping for Gen2. to me it made sense since their early reservation queue was pretty much done and the R2 was still 2 years away. adding the tri-motor and decking out the quad didnt seem like the right time to do that. Rivian keeps adding more configurations instead of less to get costs and production/supply chain complexity down.

 

[carsly]

i agree. they need to have a lower end trim for both the R1T and R1S and get the price/costs down. i was actually expecting that when they were retooling the factory earlier this year and prepping for Gen2. to me it made sense since their early reservation queue was pretty much done and the R2 was still 2 years away. adding the tri-motor and decking out the quad didnt seem like the right time to do that. Rivian keeps adding more configurations instead of less to get costs and production/supply chain complexity down.

Yeah, that was my best bet as well - that the retooling would bring down costs and prices. The dual motor standard pack is a solid step, as is some de-contenting (Camp Speaker, Air Compressor, etc.) but those were obvious two years ago. It's past time for the next step. Maybe when Rivian starts production of the ultra-low volume Quad Max they will also bring out a lower priced trim level. I see Rivian is trying to mirror Model X pricing with the R1S at the lower end but here's the catch - the Model X is effectively irrelevant to Tesla's financial results whereas the R1S is the big kahuna for Rivian.

To get higher factory utilization and better ability to spread fixed costs like the factory and software development Rivian needs to move more units. Hoping and praying for R2 to come in 2026 isn't going to be enough nor is the VW Scout venture. Something needs to fill the revenue gap for about 7 quarters from Q4 2024 to start of Q3 2026 when R2 may arrive.

 

[misterturbo]

I need to look for a comparison year over year for October

Q 3 2023: 15,564 vehicles delivered
Q 3 2024: 10,018 vehicles delivered

That's pretty telling. Electrek reports 17,911 Kia EV-9s so far this year. I think EV demand is soft, but it's still there...

 

[Kryptonlogic]

As someone who has used Motor Intelligence before as a source, do not trust what they post. Rivian does not share monthly vehicle sales numbers so everything they say should be taken with a grain of salt. I stopped using their data when Rivian told me it was wrong.

 

[Cycliste]

Third quarter sales 2024 is down 35.6% from third quarter 2023. Rivian was still working through pre-ales in 2023, if I recall correctly, though. These delivery numbers are from Rivian.

 

[Firewired]

You sure could not tell sales are down from the purchase process, unless they are supply constrained. I am in the process of completing a purchase for my second Rivian and sales seems to care less that I make the purchase. They have been totally un-accommodating. I am honestly near the point of walking away and just loosing the deposit rather than complete the purchase. I guess they feel that they will be able to sell it no matter what. very disappointing as a fan and share holder.

 

[onesoil]

You sure could not tell sales are down from the purchase process, unless they are supply constrained. I am in the process of completing a purchase for my second Rivian and sales seems to care less that I make the purchase. They have been totally un-accommodating. I am honestly near the point of walking away and just loosing the deposit rather than complete the purchase. I guess they feel that they will be able to sell it no matter what. very disappointing as a fan and share holder.

As someone who bought a demo R1T (our second after a launch R1T in 2022) and leased 2 more R1Ts for our business, I was amazed at how hard I had to work to get those sales/leases done! I told everyone I could that if shouldn’t be this difficult to take our money—they really need to ground-up overhaul their “sales” team with people who actually know how to sell.

Rivian no longer has the demand-heavy, supply constrained “it” product that people will bend over backwards to acquire, which in my experience, they still seem to be acting like they are selling as a sales department. They need to drop the $1k non-refundable deposit that is required before you can even talk lease/finance/trade numbers with a human. We had three deposits get messed up on the demo purchase (botched VIN assignments on their end), requiring me to put new deposits down and wait for refunds (which I got, but still… I’m sure many less motivated buyer would have walked at that point).

Rivian needs a direct sales phone number that actually works, and direct numbers for their “internal sales guides” (they didn’t even use the word sales to describe these people until midway through this year ?). They also need to remove the you

 

[MikeWilliams_R1T]

I like the idea of a nice, entry level R1S.
RWD, 3rd Row Delete, LFP battery and no camp speaker… but leave the other options in like the seat material and premium sound to keep it nicer than the competitors.

They could make an intermediate trim with a max pack and market it as a long range model.

it would fill the gap between the current R1S and the R2, with a lot fewer parts.

 

[kenyee]

unless they are supply constrained

They ran out of motor windings because of a communication issue with the supplier.
How long until they fix that or they can't make enough motors...

 

[White Shadow]

Yes, but that thing looks like a hearse.

I love the way the new ZDX looks. And that's weird because I generally don't go for the swoopy looking CUV/SUV styling trend. But there's something about that Acura that I really like when it comes to the styling.

 

[White Shadow]

That's pretty telling. Electrek reports 17,911 Kia EV-9s so far this year. I think EV demand is soft, but it's still there...

Well, after last night I think EVs in general are headed for a rocky road.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I love the way the new ZDX looks. And that's weird because I generally don't go for the swoopy looking CUV/SUV styling trend. But there's something about that Acura that I really like when it comes to the styling.

That's probably just the carplay talking.

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