Thousands of Rivian R1 and EDV waiting to be delivered from Normal Plant (6/1/23 photo)

[BigSkies]

FWIW- I recall reading somewhere that it isn't that Amazon doesn't "want" the EDV's.. they are just behind in setting up the charging infrastructure at their depots. They could take delivery.... but in some locations there is literally now way to charge them.

Amazon is aggressively cost-cutting this year, including cutting their capex. Reading between the lines, I'm guessing Amazon is simply slowing their EDV rollout as a way to preserve capital. Having played these corporate games myself, here's what I see as contributing to the rationale:

1. They overall need fewer vehicles than they expecting this year due to slowing growth. They don't need the financial hit of selling their current fleet at (presumably) below their book value. Fewer total vehicles needed simply means adding fewer this year than previously expected.
2. While Amazon may owe Rivian money the moment an EDV is produced, depreciation doesn't start until the month that vehicle is placed in service (this is a fun accounting rule). They can defer the depreciation expense by avoiding delivery.
3. There's a significant amount of capex involved in building out charging infrastructure, and probably some opex in training/installation. This is an expense that can be deferred so they hit this years tough earning targets.

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[DuoRivians]

All these people who presume to know what demand Amazon and Rivian are truly facing, because they see (hundreds of) completed vehicles on the lot.

 

[lg3103]

I read the same thing. Here in CO they were still installing the chargers at the Denver hub last we heard. No point in having the vans here if you can’t charge them.

they just finished installing approx. 100 chargers at their delivery center next to the Centennial Airport...driving by twice a week when dropping my daughter at practice...can't wait to see all the Rivian vans to start showing up.

 

[Bee]

Certainly last year when production easily went into the thousands. Some photos 21 months into production and probably close to 40000 vehicles made seems an odd time to say “oh now they are an OEM”.

I don't think your reasoning is any less arbitrary than mine.

 

[BigSkies]

they just finished installing approx. 100 chargers at their delivery center next to the Centennial Airport...driving by twice a week when dropping my daughter at practice...can't wait to see all the Rivian vans to start showing up.

I’m right there with you. It’s just as much about local air quality as it is about climate change here. Electrifying the big fleets (among other things) is what we need to get back to breathable local air.

 

[Riptide]

Or is this the SC pediatric waiting area for the 2nd, 3rd….15th “teething issues” and “growing pains” visit?

/s

 

[va_rivian]

Mine's still at the service center. Two weeks from VIN to finished production. Then one and half weeks to get a home delivery slot because they opened a SC in Richmond and not DC. Then another week because they call you the night before delivery and say they need to fix something and push delivery another week. Not very efficient to let the car sit at the SC for a week and a half before checking to make sure it's good for delivery. Glad they make you pay well in advance of delivery.

 

[VSG]

Glad they make you pay well in advance of delivery.

They do not. They need to receive your payment a day before you have delivery scheduled. No more. If you paid earlier, that's on you - it's not like they're going to refuse the money if you give it to them a month in advance.

 

[va_rivian]

They do not. They need to receive your payment a day before you have delivery scheduled. No more. If you paid earlier, that's on you - it's not like they're going to refuse the money if you give it to them a month in advance.

Right, so paid the day before and then they cancel delivery.

 

[VSG]

Right, so paid the day before and then they cancel delivery.

Yes, that can happen, but in rare exceptional cases.

However, you said "they make you pay well in advance of delivery" which is absolutely not true. They need you to pay before delivery, that's all. And that's what it says in the 8 steps, and that's what your guide will tell you if you ask.

I wired my funds to arrive the day before my scheduled delivery. And like most people my delivery took place on the scheduled day.

 

[NineElectrics]

It’s worrying to see so much inventory piling up. It speaks to problems, somewhere, of some kind.

 

[Joel]

Mine's still at the service center. Two weeks from VIN to finished production. Then one and half weeks to get a home delivery slot because they opened a SC in Richmond and not DC. Then another week because they call you the night before delivery and say they need to fix something and push delivery another week. Not very efficient to let the car sit at the SC for a week and a half before checking to make sure it's good for delivery. Glad they make you pay well in advance of delivery.

I picked mine up in Richmond. Drove a bit more than two hours as it was available for pickup. Richmond SC said midweek was slow as everyone wants a weekend appointment. In the hour that I had my appointment it looked like PDI was being completed on about 15-20 cars during that timeframe time. They had about 50-75 cars in the back from what I saw. They seemed very efficient and everyone I chatted with was pleasant.

 

[VSG]

It’s worrying to see so much inventory piling up. It speaks to problems, somewhere, of some kind.

No, it does not speak to problems, it indicates a robust production rate. There will always be some percentage of the production on the lot - the greater the production, the greater the number on the lot.

This is obvious, and Rivian obviously planned for it, otherwise why would the lot be so big?

Saying it's worrying is like saying the size of one of Amazon's fulfillment centers is worrying because there are so many boxes there that no one wants ...

 

[NineElectrics]

No, it does not speak to problems, it indicates a robust production rate. There will always be some percentage of the production on the lot - the greater the production, the greater the number on the lot.

This is obvious, and Rivian obviously planned for it, otherwise why would the lot be so big?

Saying it's worrying is like saying the size of one of Amazon's fulfillment centers is worrying because there are so many boxes there that no one wants ...

It doesn’t prove a robust production rate unless someone has a webcam counting the number of cars coming in and going out. Hopefully production is increasing. Regardless, though, vehicles are piling up faster than they can be disposed of. A ramp faster than the cars can be sold is, itself, a problem. Inventory is cash! And Rivian recently filed to build two more parking lots at the factory (https://www.25newsnow.com/2023/04/0...est-solar-array-massive-employee-parking-lot/) so I wouldn’t say their planning is perfect.

 

[crashmtb]

It’s worrying to see so much inventory piling up. It speaks to problems, somewhere, of some kind.

Go look at any auto manufacturing plant. They all have huge lots for staging completed vehicles. The “problem” is vehicles are predicted faster than they can be shipped. It’s just the nature of the process.

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