Rivian sticks to 2023 production goal for EVs despite quarterly dip

EV automaker Rivian said Monday it produced 9,395 vehicles at its factory in Normal, Illinois in the first quarter, lower than the previous period but still on track to hit its 50,000 production goal for the year.

Rivian said it delivered 7,946 of those vehicles in the first quarter. Rivian’s first-quarter delivery numbers just missed analysts’ expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Rivian to deliver about 8,000 vehicles.

Shares fell 4.3% following the announcement.

Those Q1 numbers were higher than the same quarter last year, a time when Rivian was grappling with supply chain constraints in the midst of scaling up production. Still, they were lower than its Q4 results. Rivian produced 10,020 EVs in Q4 and delivered 8,504 in the same period.

Rivian has struggled with supply chain problems — specifically semiconductors — since production of its R1T truck began in late 2021. Those problems didn’t abate in 2022, forcing the company to scale back production guidance from 50,000 to 25,000 vehicles for 2022. Even with that lower, more conservative guidance Rivian didn’t quite hit the mark. Rivian produced 24,337 vehicles and delivered 20,332 vehicles in 2022.

Rivian is scheduled to host an audio webcast at 2 pm PT May 9 following the release of its first-quarter earnings results.