In January, the start up company made about 200 vehicles per week
Production will have to increase to fulfil the demand in a timely manner
Rivian aims to have a 10% market share by 2030
Rivian slowly began production of its first models, the R1T pickup and the R1S SUV, at the end of last year, with 1,015 units delivered against a goal of 1,200.
Of this number, only two R1S models were delivered to their new owners, in order to comply with promises that this model would begin to be delivered by the end of last year.
According to the CEO, the automaker has since increased its production capacity in order to be able to meet its goals and to deliver vehicles to customers in more reasonable times.
In January, Rivian built around 200 vehicles per week, which is still not enough to meet demand anytime soon, with around 71,000 pre-orders for the R1T and R1S in the US and Canada.
In addition to its consumer models, Rivian has a contract with Amazon, which owns 20% of the automaker’s stock, to build electric delivery vans for the online retailer. The order is for 100,000 vans by 2025, with the first 10,000 expected to be delivered this year, so it is possible that Rivian will put more effort into this product than into production of its regular vehicles.
According to the CEO, the biggest challenges to a smooth production ramp-up are the supply chain issues and a tight labor market, both of which are problems that have been created or worsened by the pandemic.
The automaker is confident it will be able to face these problems, since it expects to be able to reach a market share of 10% amongst electric vehicles by the end of the current decade with the help of a diversified model offering.
