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Rivian I mentioned Revenue on Thursday reached $874 million in the third quarter — 12% below analyst estimates — as the electric vehicle startup struggled to resolve a component shortage that disrupted production of its flagship R1S and recently repaired R1T vehicles.
Last month, Rivian cut its annual production guidance to 47,000 to 49,000 vehicles due to a “severe” supply issue with a component of its Enduro drive, a single-motor-per-axle system used in Rivian’s R1 vehicles. The Enduro engine, which debuts in vehicles in 2023, is a symbol of Rivian’s push to become more vertically integrated and less reliant on suppliers. In this case, efforts to bring design in-house negatively impacted production.
“This has been a difficult quarter for us due to some supply chain challenges or supply ramps, and one of those suppliers in particular has significantly limited our production,” said founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. “And we’re working very hard to address that. This is one of our top priorities in terms of business, and we see this as a really short-term issue, but it has certainly presented challenges.”
While the supplier issue was largely responsible for its revenue decline, there was still a gap between production and delivery in the third quarter. Rivian said last month that it produced 13,157 vehicles and delivered just 10,018 — a difference that suggests demand for its expensive electric vehicles was also a factor.
The company now says it will revise its adjusted annual earnings guidance to a loss between $2.82 billion and $2.87 billion. Rivian had previously estimated its adjusted earnings loss at $2.7 billion.
Rivian’s third-quarter revenue of $874 million is 34.6% lower than the $1.33 billion it generated in the same period last year. The company said revenues from the sale of regulatory credits amounted to $8 million for the quarter. Rivian was able to reduce operating expenses, which helped it reduce its losses to $1.1 billion.
The bleak revenue numbers, driven by lower production and deliveries, come as Rivian tries to rein in costs, improve efficiency and market the next generation of its flagship R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV as well as commercial trucks, which are primarily sold to Amazon. Rivian said it has begun production of a tri-motor model of its R1 vehicles — a more expensive version — which could provide some relief to capital and the supply chain.
Rivian said it is also continuing to make progress on its next-generation R2 platform, a midsize SUV that Scaringe said “will be a key driver of Rivian’s growth.”
Rivian on Thursday announced a battery supplier partnership with LG Energy Solution (LGES) to supply R2 batteries. Under the agreement, LGES will supply 4,695 cylindrical battery cells, which will be produced at a factory in Queen Creek, Arizona.
Rivian said it expects R2 production to begin in the first half of 2026.
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