Startup EV manufacturer Rivian accelerated production by 67% in the third quarter, with more than 7,300 electric trucks rolling off the line at its Normal plant.
Rivian, which has had a slower-than-expected ramp-up amid the global semiconductor shortage, is on pace to build a lowered target of 25,000 vehicles in its first full year of production, the company said in a news release Monday.
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The California-based company launched production at the converted Mitsubishi factory in September 2021. The plant, which has more than 6,000 employees and an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles, has built 14,317 vehicles this year, including R1T pickups, R1S SUVs and Amazon delivery vans.
But production jumped from 4,401 vehicles in the second quarter to 7,363 during the third quarter, and the company said “it believes it is on track” to build 25,000 vehicles this year. Rivian delivered 6,584 vehicles during the third quarter, the company said.
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While it has generated robust demand for its inaugural products, Rivian has struggled to keep up with demand. The company had more than 98,000 orders for its R1T pickup and R1S SUV as of June 30. Amazon, an early investor in Rivian, has ordered 100,000 commercial electric delivery vans, which began hitting the road in Chicago and other cities in July.
EV sales, which made up 2.6% of the U.S. auto market in 2021, are projected to nearly double this year to a 5% market share, according to car shopping website Edmunds. Demand has been boosted by spiking gas prices, but EVs are generally more expensive than combustion-engine vehicles. The national average price of an EV in August was $61,955, compared with $47,195 for all vehicles, Edmunds said.
President Joe Biden’s historic climate bill, which was signed into law in August, is also likely to boost EV demand. It includes an extension of the $7,500 federal tax credit for EV purchases but sets a cap that would make trucks and SUVs priced over $80,000 ineligible. That would cut the majority of Rivian’s sales out of the mix for the tax credit beginning next year.
Rivian, which bought the idled Mitsubishi plant for $16 million in 2017, completed an extensive renovation last year, turning on the lights at a 3.3 million-square-foot factory and breathing new life into Normal, a college town about 130 miles south of Chicago.
The company previously said it would hire an additional 1,500 workers and add a second shift at the Normal plant by the end of the third quarter. A spokesperson did not provide an update on those plans Tuesday.
Rivian is also building a second $5 billion assembly plant in Georgia, which is slated to produce its next-generation EV on the smaller R2 platform beginning in 2025. Last week, a Georgia judge rejected an agreement that would have provided a huge property tax break to build the plant.
