Rivian ‘making progress’ on production ramp-up, sets market share target

Rivian CEO RJ Scaring, 35, presents his company’s R1T all-electric pickup and all-electric R1S SUV at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 27, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Reuters/Mike Blake

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DETROIT, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) is “making progress” in increasing production of electric vehicles at its Normal, Illinois, assembly plant and aims to take a 10% share of the EV market by 2030. , Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe said on Thursday.

“We are absolutely making progress,” he said during the Wolfe Research conference on increasing vehicle production. “The plant is starting to ramp up nicely.”

Scaringe said Rivian, whose shares closed up 10.7% at $63.71, idled the plant for the first 10 days of January to make changes to production lines to boost production.

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Responding to a question about how big Rivian could be by 2030, Scaring said the company had “positioning the brand to build a portfolio ….”

He called the global semiconductor chip shortage the “most painful” obstacle to manufacturing production. The California-based startup produced 1,015 vehicles last year, well short of its target of 1,200 due to supply-chain constraints. read more

Scaring said that Rivian has in part replaced some chipsets with other chipsets that are easier to obtain. He said global shortages would be a factor during the rest of the year.

Rivian’s stock declined after struggling with manufacturing its R1T pickup and R1S SUV during its first-quarter earnings report as a public company. It also has a contract to build 100,000 electric delivery vans by 2025 for Amazon.com, which has a 20% stake in Rivian. read more

Back in December, Scaring attributed production challenges to global supply-chain constraints, the COVID-19 pandemic, a tight labor market and short-term issues surrounding manufacturing electric battery modules. read more

Scaring said Thursday that Rivian was building a pilot line for in-house production of battery cell production and also plans to co-invest with a supplier on production. Rivian’s cells are currently supplied by Samsung SDI (006400.ks). He also said that automakers will have to work on securing critical battery materials such as lithium and nickel.

“It’s not an option. It’s a necessity,” he said.

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Reporting by Ben Kellman in Detroit; Editing by Leslie Adler, Bernard Ore

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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