Rivian (RIVN) gains 4% after market following raised production forecasts
Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) raised their yearly production forecasts by 2,000 vehicles to reach 54,000 units as demand for the automaker’s electric trucks sent the company’s shares up 4% in volatile after-hours trading on Tuesday.
Rivian's optimistic forecast serves as a positive for an industry grappling with the challenges of elevated inflation, which has dampened consumer interest, and Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) recent price cuts aimed at boosting demand.
Rival EV maker, Lucid (NYSE: LCID) cut their production forecast Tuesday to “prudently align with deliveries." The company now expects to produce 8,000–8,500 vehicles this year (previously 10,000). The move sent LCID shares trading down 4%.
"I'm actually surprised to be honest at how much we've seen others pull back," Rivian CEO, RJ Scaringe told Reuters in an interview. "I think it's going to create, unfortunately, somewhat of a vacuum of products in the market."
Rivian will halt production for a week this quarter it make crucial updates to assembly equipment. According to Scaringe, the scheduled pause held Rivian from raising the annual production outlook even further.
Rivian also revealed Tuesday it will end its exclusivity deal with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) for electric delivery vans. Rivian is hoping the decision will open the door for more customers around the world. However, the electric automaker is still committed to fulfilling the 100,000 unit order to Amazon by 2030.
Shares of RIVN are up 6.31% in pre-market trading on Wednesday.
By Michael Elkins | [email protected]