Rivian starts a challenging year with a big slip in deliveries

Rivian delivered just 8,640 vehicles in the first three months of 2024, the company’s worst quarterly mark since the end of 2022. But the company says the slow start won’t impact its overall guidance for the year — it still expects to deliver between 46,000 and 51,000 EVs by the end of 2025. The company warned that the first quarter would be challenging. On a conference call with analysts in February, Rivian’s chief financial officer said that a “challenging demand environment, partially driven by the impact of the fires in Los Angeles” — plus the seasonal drag on sales to start the year — would result in fewer deliveries. The company was still able to build 14,611 vehicles in the quarter. The soft first quarter comes in what is likely to be another challenging year for the company as it aims to release a more affordable mass-market EV in 2026. Rivian has reworked its flagship R1S SUV and R1T pickup truck so that it loses less on each sale. It also laid off 10% of employees last yea ... Read full article.