Shares of Rivian Automotive fell 10% in after-hours trading after the electric vehicle manufacturer cut its production targets for the year.
Rivian said it expects to fall “a few hundred vehicles short” of its 2021 production target of 1,200 vehicles. The company said it faced supply chain issues as well as challenges ramping up production of the batteries that power its electric vehicles.
The production update came alongside Rivian’s first quarterly report as a public company and confirmation of plans for a new $5 billion U.S. plant to be based in Georgia that’s expected to come online in 2024.
Aside from the production snags, Rivian said total reservations for its electric R1T pick-up truck and R1S SUV increased to 71,000 as of December 15, up 28% compared with the most recent tally of 55,400 vehicles in November.
The company also said it has produced 652 R1T and R1S vehicles and delivered 386 of them, including the production and sale of the first two R1S SUVs earlier this week.
Rivian’s third-quarter results fell in-line with Wall Street revenue expectations and with estimates the company previously released as part of its November initial public offering (IPO).
For the third quarter, Rivian reported an operational loss of $776 million U.S. and a net loss of $1.23 billion U.S. The company had previously predicted an operational loss between $745 million U.S. and $795 million U.S. and a net loss between $1.21 billion U.S. and $1.28 billion U.S.
The company posted a loss per share of $12.21 U.S. on revenue of about $1 million U.S. Wall Street analysts expected the company to report a $5.52 U.S. earnings per share loss on revenue of $1 million U.S., according to estimates compiled by Refinitiv.
Rivian’s new battery and assembly plant will be located east of Atlanta and is expected to facilitate production of up to 400,000 vehicles per year, the company said. Construction on the facility is expected to begin in summer 2022, and the start of production is slated for 2024.
Rivian stock closed trading yesterday (December 16) at $108.87 per share, down 25% over the past month.
