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By 25 News
BLOOMINGTON – Rivian Automotive has added a second shift of workers making electric vehicles, and despite supply chain challenges, the company said it still expects to meet its goal of producing 25,000 vehicles this year.
Rivian, with more than 6,000 employees working at its plant in Normal, released third quarter results Wednesday afternoon. The company said it produced 7,363 pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles from July through September, up 67% from the second quarter, and delivered 6,584 to Rivian customers.
Rivian’s continuing commitment to meeting its production goal, indications of strong demand, and its plan to reduce costs may have contributed to a rally in the company’s share price. The stock reportedly jumped 8.1% in afterhours trading to $30.35 after a sharp selloff during the regular trading day.
Rivian reported a net loss of $1.724 million during the third quarter.
RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s founder and chief executive officer, briefed equity analysts about the new second production shift, which had been delayed until now because of supply chain issues.
“We’re building vehicles on it. Those vehicles are being delivered to customers, which is exciting,” said Scaringe.
“We wanted to ensure before we brought on a large group of additional team members to make sure that we have the parts to build the vehicles,” Scaringe said.
Rivian lost five days production time in October and November because of a supply shortage of a key component, said Claire McDonough, the carmaker’s chief financial officer.
“The supply chain continues to be our largest source of uncertainty as we continue to ramp up production,” McDonough said.
Rivian executives said there’s strong demand for the vehicles, noting they have more than 114,000 preorders for Rivian vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.
They’re also cutting some costs, saying they’re lowering capital expenditures to $1.75 million this year “due to our streamlined product roadmap and the shift of certain capital expenditures to 2023,” Rivian said in a letter to shareholders.
Scaringe revealed Wednesday that Rivian-made vehicles have driven over 92.5 million miles.
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