Rivian Automotive RIVN highlighted upcoming vehicle launches and the electric vehicle manufacturer’s recently announced joint venture with Volkswagen VWAGY at a Thursday investor event.
Here are the key highlights.
Scaringe On EVs, Autonomy: Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said the company is focusing on making products that compel consumers to switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.
"It's so important that as an industry we create solutions or products that are really exciting to customers," Scaringe said.
The Rivian CEO said it’s important to make vehicles that fit a need and match price points expected by consumers, adding that this deep focus and commitment is why he started the company.
In order to complete the task of launching new vehicles, Scaringe said Rivian has put a focus on cost reductions and a path to profitability.
This focus has brought the ability to run the production plant 30% faster, he said. A focus on vertical integration means Rivian owns the electronics in the vehicle and the software stack, the CEO said.
Rivian's focus on autonomy will see the company control the full stack including camera sets, radar sets and be able to fuse that information early on, Scaringe said. The company will leverage artificial intelligence to train the system, he said.
The Rivian CEO said the company's technology puts it in a position to drive the product forward.
‘We Could Not Be More Excited’ About R2, R3: The partnership with Volkswagen creates flexibility with Rivian's platform, Scaringe said.
The Rivian founder said the R1T and R1S are strong sellers and laid the groundwork for the future, with lower price points coming with the launch of the R2 and R3.
"We could not be more excited about that."
Scaringe also highlighted the company's technology that was applied into the commercial space, beginning with a large partnership with Amazon.com Inc AMZN, which is Rivian’s largest shareholder.
The Rivian CEO said he continues to get asked about new customers outside of Amazon and how quickly Rivian can roll out more vehicles. Scaringe said the scaling of commercial fleets takes time.
The 20,000 vehicles in Amazon's commercial fleet rolled out slower than Rivian would have anticipated, he said.
The Rivian CEO highlighted Rivian's buildout of a charging network and its partnership with Tesla Inc TSLA that provides access to the Tesla Supercharger network for Rivian customers.
Uptime is one of the most important items for charging infrastructure, Scaringe said, adding that Rivian and Tesla are the only two networks that operate at close to 100% efficiency.
Rivian will open up its charging network in the summer, which will drive more visibility to the brand and turn the network into a "profit center" as well, he said.
The investor day also featured presentations from key Rivian executives covering topics like software, electrical hardware, autonomy & AI, commercial and finance.
What's Next For Rivian: Rivian shared an update to vehicle production and financial estimates as part of the investor day presentation.
The company expects second-quarter vehicle production to be in a range of 9,100 to 9,300 units with second-quarter deliveries expected to be in a range of 13,000 to 13,300 units. Rivian reaffirmed guidance for 57,000 vehicles produced in 2024.
Rivian shared that it expects the R2 to launch in the first half of 2026.
The company sees a path to positive gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company sees positive adjusted EBITDA coming in 2027.
Long-term targets include around 25% GAAP gross margins, around 10% free cash flow margins and high-teens adjusted EBITDA margins.
RIVN Price Action: Rivian shares are down 7% to $13.78 on Thursday, which comes after shares gained 23% Wednesday. Rivian stock is up 10% over the last year and down 41% year-to-date in 2024.
Read Next: Rivian Q1 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Beat, EPS Miss, Vehicle Guidance Reaffirmed
Photo courtesy of Rivian.
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