Electric vehicle startup Rivian saw its manufacturing output dip during the first three months of 2023, but the automaker said its annual production goal remains unchanged.
The California-based company announced Monday it produced 9,395 vehicles at its manufacturing facility in Normal, Ill., a 6% decrease from last year’s fourth quarter. The company also delivered 7,946 vehicles during this year’s first quarter.
Rivian, which committed to building a $5 billion EV factory an hour east of Atlanta, previously said it aims to build 50,000 vehicles this year. That matches the company’s initial 2022 production goal before it was cut in half because of supply-chain issues. Rivian ultimately fell just short of that revised goal.
In February, Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said supply-chain instability remains the company’s “biggest constraint.” The company’s chief financial officer, Claire McDonough, told shareholders that production lines were stopped “for the majority of the first quarter of 2023″ in order to introduce new technologies.
In a Monday news release, Rivian said its first-quarter production figures “remain in line with the company’s expectations” and that the company is “on track” to meeting its annual manufacturing goal.
Rivian’s stock, which peaked at nearly $130 per share when it went public in 2021, plummeted throughout last year and during the first few months of 2023. At 1 p.m. Monday, share prices hovered around $15.
Rivian told shareholders it aims to cut its losses, which totaled $6.8 billion in 2022. While the startup still has more than $12 billion in reserves, it recently issued $1.3 billion in bonds to help finance its future Georgia factory. Cox Enterprises, owner of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, owns about a 4% stake in Rivian.
Rivian will discuss its first-quarter financials with shareholders May 9.
