Rivian lost $6.8 billion last year as production slumped

Rivian, a maker of electric trucks, said on Tuesday it lost $1.7 billion in the last three months of last year due to production difficulties.

The loss brings the company’s total losses for 2022 to $6.8 billion and highlights the problems once-promising startups are gaining ground on Tesla, which dominates the electric vehicle sector. Last week, another young automaker, Lucid Motors, said it lost $2.6 billion in 2022.

Rivian said the supply chain issues that plagued it last year would continue this year but become easier to anticipate. The company said it expects to produce 50,000 vehicles this year, about twice as many as in 2022.

In a conference call, Rivian chief executive RJ Scaringe said the company is working to cut costs, especially now that Tesla has cut prices for its cars by up to 20%. Reducing costs “is our biggest challenge today,” Mr Scaringe said.

He added that demand remained “robust”, noting that the company had an order book that was expected to last through 2024.

Rivian had revenue of $663 million and delivered 8,054 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2022. On an annual basis, it had revenue of $1.7 billion and delivered 20,332 vehicles in 2022. It produced 24,337 vehicles last year, just short of its reduced target of 25,000.

The company said it had $11.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of December, up from $18.1 billion a year earlier.

Rivian, which is based in Irvine, Calif., makes an electric pickup truck, a sport utility vehicle, and a delivery van. The company has attracted several deep-pocketed investors, including Amazon, which placed a large order for the automaker’s pickup trucks. Ford Motor also invested in the company but ultimately decided against working with Rivian and sold most of its shares.

The company’s inability to quickly ramp up production at its Normal, Ill., plant limited sales and its stock price plunged. On Tuesday, it was trading around $19, down from around $47 a year earlier. The company’s stock price was about 8% lower in extended trading after the release of its earnings report.

Rivian said he expects to report a loss of $4.3 billion in 2023 before factoring in interest, taxes and other expenses.