For Rivian, Being Electric Alone Is Not Enough

Electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN CEO RJ Scaringe addressed competition within the EV segment on the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday.

What Happened: Being electric alone is not a sufficient point of differentiation in the auto industry as everything will be electric in the not-too-distant future, said the CEO.

Scaringe was responding to a question from Tom Narayan, Lead Equity Analyst at RBC Capital Markets, on increasing competition from legacy auto manufacturers venturing into electric vehicles.

“…in the not-too-distant future, everything will be electric. So being electric alone isn't a sufficient differentiation point,” Scaringe said. “It really ties into – ultimately what's the way the product comes together, the interplay between software, the electronics in the vehicle, of course, the dynamic performance of the vehicle, the packaging and the architecture of the vehicle.”

“We have a software experience and overall customer experience that we're really proud of, and we think [that] differentiates beyond just being an electric vehicle,” Chief Operations Officer Frank Klein said.

Why It Matters: Though Rivian has been shipping for less than two years, Marques Brownlee termed Rivian the best SUV. Brownlee, an American YouTuber and tech reviewer, reviewed the R1S in a video last month and termed it an “awesome, expensive SUV.”

The company earlier this month said it would soon have in-car video streaming, along with audio improvements and a dashcam update. Scaringe had also explained why Rivian would rather have its own software experience than rely on third-party services like Apple CarPlay.

Rivian on Tuesday reported first-quarter revenue of $661 million and a loss of $1.25 per share, ahead of Street estimates of a loss of $1.59 per share. The company aims to produce 50,000 units in 2023 and raise the number further in 2024.

It also sees hitting positive gross profit in 2024.

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