Rivian giddiness cools as production target held steady

The giddiness in the trading of Rivian, the Amazon-backed electic vehicle firm, cooled somewhat on Thursday after the company’s investor day was decidedly pedestrian compared to Tuesday’s investment news.

Rivian shares shot up more than 50% earlier this week with the news that German carmaker Volkswagen was investing up to $5 billion in a new joint venture.

In today’s ‘investor day’, meanwhile, Rivian told the market that it expects to produce 9,100 to 9,300 EVs in its second quarter (which ends this month), plus it will make 13,000 to 13,000 EV deliveries.

Market commentary described these levels as being “roughly” in line with consensus.

Rivian added that it still expects to deliver a total of 57,000 units for the year.

Spending will meanwhile be kept ‘flat’, with the company previously announcing it would cut its capex by $2.5 billion by the end of 2025.

It comes as Rivian targets ‘positive earnings’ by 2027.

This week’s deal with VW is intended to expedited Rivian’s development of new EV models, including a much anticipated SUV. For VW, meanwhile, the big investment is expected to deliver a technology transfer that moves the historic German firm into an era of ‘software-defined vehicles’ (SDVs).

In New York, Rivian shares were down 2% changing hands at $14.45, though they remain some 40% higher over recent days.