Rivian has undergone immense challenges as it shifted from pitching its ideas to actually selling its EVs. The company has successfully developed an electric pickup truck and an electric SUV, all while preparing for a massive IPO. It has also collaborated with Amazon to create electric delivery vans and has plans to do the same for other companies. However, the latest development is perhaps the most exciting yet – Rivian has revealed its plans to release a more affordable SUV, solidifying its position as a dominant player in the EV market for years to come. The company had also been considering building a new factory in Georgia to manufacture its vehicles, but has now decided to focus on expanding its existing facility in Illinois instead.
With so many variables, predicting the future of Rivian was a daunting task.
But that has all changed.
On Thursday, Rivian announced a major overhaul of its first two consumer vehicles – the R1T pickup and the R1S SUV. Along with being more technologically advanced, Rivian has also simplified their designs in an effort to significantly reduce production costs.
The company has also shifted its focus to its existing facility in Illinois, putting its plans to build a new factory in Georgia on hold for now. This decision will save Rivian an impressive $2.25 billion and allow it to concentrate all its efforts on one manufacturing site.
These changes have brought about a new clarity for Rivian’s immediate future. The company’s main goal now is to sell these revamped vehicles at a profit in order to sustain itself until it can release its more affordable mass-market R2 SUV (along with the highly-anticipated R3 variant that has created a buzz in the automotive world earlier this year). Rivian has a clear roadmap towards achieving this goal, with a solid understanding of what it needs to do.
“With Rivian’s latest move to refresh the R1T and R1S EVs, you can begin to see how the company aims to chart its way forward across the ‘EV valley of death’,” said Corey Cantor, senior associate for electric vehicles at BloombergNEF, in an email to TechCrunch. “If successful, they can use the fruits of this process as they scale-up the R2 and reach the mass market, en route to the R3.”
Compared to other EV startups, Rivian may have an easier path through this “valley of death”. Take Lucid Motors, for example. While its Lucid Air sedan has received critical acclaim, the company has struggled to find buyers for it, with its CEO Peter Rawlinson even admitting to failures on the marketing front. So far, Lucid Motors has only shipped around 12,000 cars.
Lucid Motors is now counting on the success of their upcoming Gravity SUV, which is expected to have wider appeal due to the popularity of SUVs. However, nothing is certain, especially considering that the Gravity will be starting at a relatively high price point of “under $80,000”. For Lucid Motors to reach its ultimate goal of releasing its own midsize, mass-market EV, the success of the Gravity SUV is crucial.
Other EV startups face even more uncertainty. Canoo has changed its business model multiple times since its establishment in 2019. Currently, the company plans to sell its EVs to fleets and government entities. Faraday Future has also been facing challenges, spending more time dealing with landlords than selling its luxury EV. Fisker is on the verge of bankruptcy due to underwhelming sales of its electric SUV, along with numerous quality and service issues.
Reaching success won’t be easy for Rivian either. The company is currently forecasting almost no growth this year compared to 2023, and it hasn’t had the smoothest start. As a result, Rivian may need to raise more funding, a task that can be difficult in the current economy.
However, Rivian has revealed that the changes made to its R1 lineup will put it on the path to achieving “positive gross profit” by the end of this year. This is a major milestone considering that Rivian is currently losing thousands of dollars on each car it sells. For Rivian to continue its journey and eventually release its more affordable R2 model, the success of these redesigned vehicles is crucial.
“The path ahead is clearer than it was a year ago as Rivian has laid out its near-term plans,” Cantor states. “But ultimately, execution is key – both in achieving profitability and high-volume EV sales – for Rivian to become one of this decade’s EV success stories.”
