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Article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-26/rivian-is-boosting-production-of-pickups-after-late-2021-woes?srnd=economics-vp#:~:text=Rivian Automotive Inc. is ramping,missing its goals in 2021

Rivian Is Ramping Production of Pickups After Late 2021 Woes
  • EV maker eyes rate of 200 ready-to-sell units per week
  • Assembly line was halted in early January for improvements

January 26, 2022

Rivian Automotive Inc. is ramping up output of its debut electric vehicle toward almost 200 delivery-ready units a week after working through production snags, according to people familiar with the matter, gaining traction after missing its goals in 2021.

The pickup maker backed by Amazon.com Inc. had paused production at its Normal, Illinois, plant for about a week around the start of this month for fixes and process improvements, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

After starting limited production of its R1T pickup in August, Rivian averaged about 50 units a week through the end of December. That rate has fluctuated, with the number dropping significantly lower at points last month amid Covid-19 outbreaks at the plant and supply-chain bottlenecks, the people said.

News of the production boost sent Rivian’s shares up as much as 14% Wednesday in New York, the biggest intraday gain since November. The stock was up 9.7% to $65.37 a share at 12:45 p.m.

While the accelerated rate this year is a sign of progress, it will depend on Rivian’s success in honing manufacturing processes and navigating the supply-chain disruptions.

The company’s EVs have been hotly anticipated as genuine competition to market incumbent Tesla Inc., in part because they are bigger, bulkier and more aligned with the gas cars Americans drive today. Backed by a stellar list of investors, Rivian’s public listing in November was the biggest of the year and the sixth-biggest IPO in U.S. history.

The stock soared to more than $170 a share in the days following the debut, but has since come crashing back to Earth, losing about two-thirds of its value and falling below its IPO price.


One catalyst for the decline was an admission during its quarterly earnings in December that production would fall “a few hundred vehicles short” of its goal to make 1,200 EVs by the end of the year. Rivian said earlier this month it ended 2021 having produced 1,015 vehicles and delivered 920.

Chief Executive Officer R.J. Scaringe cited challenges ramping up and supply-chain issues.

SUV Slows Flow
Output of the truck was slowed in part by the start of production on the same line for Rivian’s second vehicle, the R1S SUV, according to people familiar with the matter. While some salable R1S units have been built, the company still has some pre-production work to complete on the SUV, the people said. Rivian also had to manage through Covid-19 outbreaks in the plant, the people said.

Rivian also is working on an all-electric delivery van for Amazon, which is produced on a separate assembly line. Rivian is due to deliver 10,000 of these vans by the end of this year and 100,000 to complete the order by the end of the decade.

Tesla also struggled to launch and ramp up production of its first mass-market consumer car, the Model 3, while already selling the more expensive, lower-volume Model S sedan. After falling well short of its 2017 targets for the Model 3, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company was stuck in “production hell.”

Rivian is expected to tread a similar path. However, the company counts a number of Tesla alumni in senior and middle management who are determined to avoid a repeat of the mistakes made in Tesla’s Fremont, California, factory, Bloomberg has reported. Other issues have been fairly typical of a product ramp, such as irregular cadence of key parts being available for the line and quality control checks taking time at the other end, some of the people said.

Rivian’s Normal facility will be capable of producing 150,000 EVs a year by 2023, the company has said, with plans to increase capacity to 200,000 vehicles annually. In December, Rivian announced a second EV plant will be built in Georgia that will eventually be able to produce an 400,000 vehicles annually. Production is expected to start in 2024.
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atR1S

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It better be more than this, no?
 

COdogman

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200 per week = 10,400 per year. Not great news for those of us near the bottom of that waiting list (or anyone for that matter):angry:
Obviously this *should* increase over time, or I will just tell myself that is what will happen so I don't drive myself crazy.
 

MurryR1T

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They started production in September.... late January and they have ramped up to 200. I do not see this as good news.
 

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I'd assume this is just an initial ramp. This is good news.
Yes. A month ago I wrote this on another Rivian forum:

"My assumption, based on limited information, is that there were probably around 40k reservations when I ordered. Lets say 10-15k are R1S? We know R1S are slow roll out compared to R1T.

So 25-30K reservations before me. Now count out Max packs (stated at 20% of orders), approx 5K off from in front of me. So 20-25K ahead. Now substract 10-30% for no purchase (maybe they are waiting, buying a Lightning or other), so 1500 to 9000 off that.

Production (as of Dec 2021): Figure 100 a week for a bit, then doubled in a few months, then doubled again.

So 400 in Jan, 600 in Feb, 1000 in March, 1500 in April, hits a snag and 1500 again in May, 2000 in June, 2500 in July, 3000 in Aug and sticks at 1000 a week for a bit: 4000 in Sept, Oct, Nov.

So I would get an R1T (being "corrected" from 40k to 20k) in Oct...and leeway gives till Dec. Hence my Oct-Dec 2022 delivery. Math!

Of course all just my speculation."

So 800 a month in Jan is double what I expected, so yay!
 

AllInev

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I'd assume this is just an initial ramp. This is good news.
Thanks for this tidbit. When I hear a confirmed 200/day (not week), I'll be much more excited. ;-)
 

sevengroove

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"IS RAMPING" => production isn't even at that point yet. When will it actually get to 200/week?
 

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Redline

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Of course its news.
 

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It's news that Rivian is attempting to increase production?
Sure, it's the kind of thing that affects short term stock price. The news of Bill Gates affair likely affected Microsoft's stock price, and there's analysis articles out there about it, since it lent credence to earlier rumors that there was inappropriate sexual misbehaviors within the company, which these days means will cost someone significant money, even if it was fairly long in the past. *Anything* can affect stock price, and professionals in that business try to judge what is worth reacting to an what is just ho-hum.
 

AdamsFan1983

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fotoflux

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Love that they literally produced 2 "production" R1Ss in 2021 and sold them to the CEO and CFO.... but in the article they say that the R1S is still working through prototyping..... Not loving that news. But if they're ramping the R1T, that's still progress in the right direction.
 

Diddy123

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Some more math...

We know the factory is operating 2 shifts per day, 6 days per week.

200/6 days = 33/day. 2 shifts per day (16 hrs) = ~2 vehicles/hour. Or 1 truck every 30 minutes or so.

Seems reasonable.
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