The rate at which Rivian has manufactured and delivered its R1 electric adventure vehicles from its plant in Normal has been reported to be beneath the anticipated rate.
This slow ramp-up rate has been attributed to supply chain constraints, which Rivian’s CEO, RJ Scaringe has described as long-term and solvable.
The automaker announced its first quarterly results on Thursday, in which Rivian revealed that it had produced 652 R1 vehicles, comprising mainly trucks since they started production in September.
This means that Rivian will be ‘’a few hundred vehicles short’’ of its target of 1200 by the end of 2021.
“Our dedicated teams are working as hard as possible to get as many deliveries needed for our clientele by the end of the year. Scaringe said during the earnings call. “Ultimately, ramping up the R1S [sport utility vehicle] in November, while also ramping the production of the R1T [PICKUP truck], was more challenging than expected.’’
Supply chain constraints continue to be a challenge, Scaringe said. Rivian’s suppliers are also scaling up their production to match Rivian’s ramp-up rate, and the company’s procurement team remains “nimble and continues to work with supplier partners across all tiers to mitigate issues caused by supply chain deficiencies, the labor market, and the COVID pandemic.”
Rivian now has 71,000 preorders for its R1T and R1S, up 28% from October 31. The automaker also announced the deliveries of two R1S vehicles a couple of days ago which one was delivered to Rivian CEO R. J. Scaringe
