EV maker Rivian is reporting what’s expected to be a big Q3 earnings report on Tuesday after the market close. The report comes as Rivian has continued to improve its per-vehicle losses as it ramps production.
Deliveries continue growing in the third quarter
Rivian crushed expectations, delivering 15,564 vehicles in the third quarter, up 24% from Q2 and more than doubling last year’s figures. The EV maker built 16,304 EVs in Q3, 17% more than the previous quarter.
As Rivian better leverages its Normal, Illinois facility, the cost to build each vehicle has fallen significantly.
Rivian lost $32,595 on each vehicle made in the second quarter. Although this is still a high number, it’s down over 50% from the first quarter’s loss of $67,329.
The improvements are even more drastic compared to last year’s $139,277 loss per vehicle in Q3.
Q3 ’22
Q4 ’22
Q1 ’23
Q2 ’23
Rivian loss per vehicle
$139,277
$124,162
$67,329
$32,594
Rivian loss per vehicle quarterly
Investors will watch this number closely on Tuesday as Rivian reports its Q3 earnings. Scaringe previously said he expects Rivian to reach break-even on each EV built by next year.
Profitability comes into focus
Reaffirming this target, Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe told CNBC the company is seeing significant progress quarter-over-quarter.
Scaringe said, “What we’re going to see is a very clear staircase or set of steps that get us to profitability as a business.”
Rivian R1S (Source: Rivian)
Although scaling production has improved vehicle margins, Rivian has also introduced other cost-cutting measures. The EV maker confirmed it’s on track to reach its goal of building 52,000 vehicles this year.
Scaringe also mentioned that he does not see customer overlap with Tesla’s Cybertruck and the Rivian R1T.
Rivian has been among the few EV makers to avoid drastic price cuts. Market leader Tesla has slashed prices all year to boost demand. Tesla’s prices are down about 25% YOY.
Rivian Q3 earnings financial preview
Investors got a scare after Rivian revealed plans to issue $1.5 billion in convertible debt last month. The news came days after Scaringe said the company was “very comfortable” with the company’s “strong balance sheet.”
Rivian R1T (Source: Rivian)
Scaringe eased investors’ minds, telling Reuters that the offering was designed to free up funds as it enters a new growth phase. It’s intended to create an additional buffer rather than reflect cash concerns, according to Scaringe.
Rivian had around $9.2 billion in cash at the end of June. The EV maker’s preliminary Q3 earnings suggest between $1.29 billion and $1.33 billion in revenue, aligning with Wall St estimates of $1.3 billion.
The EV maker posted a net loss of $1.12 billion in Q2, compared to $1.7 billion last year and $1.4 billion in Q1.
After the progress, Rivian improved its adjusted EBITDA guidance to ($4.2 billion) while lowering CapEx to $1.7 billion.
Rivian stock chart over the past 12 months (Source: Rivian)
Rivian’s stock is down 45% over the past 12 months despite a hot streak following strong Q2 results.
Electrek’s Take
Several automakers, including Ford and GM, recently delayed EV targets, with widening losses on electric models.
However, others, including Hyundai and Kia, expect the momentum to continue with electric cars. Can Rivian keep the growth up? We will see Tuesday after the market closes. Check back for final details.
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While much of the Western world is still figuring out how to get more people on electric bikes, China just flipped a switch, and the results are staggering. Thanks to a generous nationwide trade-in program rolled out around six months ago, China has seen an explosive surge in electric bicycle sales, with over 8.47 million new e-bikes hitting the road in the first half of 2025 alone.
The program, which offers subsidies to riders who trade in their old, often outdated electric bikes for newer, safer, and more efficient models, has sparked a new e-bike sale boom in a country already dominated by e-bike travel. In major provinces like Jiangsu, Hebei, and Zhejiang, over one million new e-bikes were sold in each region in just six months. That’s a tidal wave of e-bike sales.
The incentives vary depending on location and the model being traded in, but for many consumers, the subsidies cover a substantial portion of a new e-bike’s price – enough to turn a “maybe next year” purchase into a “right now” upgrade. And these aren’t just budget bikes either. The program has driven demand for higher-quality models with better batteries, safer braking systems, and more reliable electronics, accelerating both adoption and innovation across the industry.
The move has proven successful in replacing the millions of older models with lower-quality lithium-ion batteries that had posed safety risks around the country. Instead, China has pushed for higher-quality lithium-ion batteries, a return to a newer generation of higher-performance AGM batteries, and even interesting new sodium-ion battery options.
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Most e-bikes in China look more like what we’d consider seated scooters
According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, more than 8.4 million consumers have participated in the e-bike trade-in program so far, contributing to a sales increase of 643.5% year-over-year and more than doubling sales month-over-month. Meanwhile, production of new electric bicycles rose by nearly 28%, as manufacturers scrambled to meet demand. The sales boosts have already been seen in the financial reports of major industry players like NIU.
And it’s not just the big players benefiting – over 82,000 small independent e-bike dealers reported average sales increases of ¥302,000 (around US $42,000), giving a serious boost to local economies.
What’s particularly striking here is how fast this happened. The program was officially launched late last year as part of a broader effort to stimulate domestic consumption and phase out outdated vehicles and appliances. But while most analysts expected gradual growth, the e-bike sector responded much more quickly. In less than a year, the trade-in subsidies have reshaped the electric bicycle market, creating a consumer-driven boom that shows no signs of slowing.
For those of us watching from outside China, it’s hard not to wonder what might happen if other countries tried something similar. While most families in Chinese cities already own an electric bike and thus see this as an opportunity to trade it in for a newer model, Western countries like the US are still figuring out how to stimulate commuters into buying their first e-bike.
It’s too soon to know exactly how long the boom will last or whether the momentum will carry into 2026 and beyond. We’ve seen bicycle industry bubbles grow and burst before. But one thing’s clear: with the right incentives, even modest ones, it’s possible to ignite real, large-scale change. China just proved it with nearly 8.5 million new e-bikes to show for it.
And if you’re wondering what it looks like when a country takes electric micromobility seriously, this is it.
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Today was the official start of racing at the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025! There was a tremendous energy (and heat) on the ground at NCM Motorsports Park as nearly a dozen teams took to the track. Currently, as of writing, Stanford is ranked #1 in the SOV (Single-Occupant Vehicle) class with 68 registered laps. However, the fastest lap so far belongs to UC Berkeley, which clocked a 4:45 on the 3.15-mile track. That’s an average speed of just under 40 mph on nothing but solar energy. Not bad!
In the MOV (Multi-Occupant Vehicle) class, Polytechnique Montréal is narrowly ahead of Appalachian State by just 4 laps. At last year’s formula sun race, Polytechnique Montréal took first place overall in this class, and the team hopes to repeat that success. It’s still too early for prediction though, and anything can happen between now and the final day of racing on Saturday.
Congrats to the teams that made it on track today. We look forward to seeing even more out there tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some shots from today via the event’s wonderful photographer Cora Kennedy.
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The numbers are in and they are all bad for Tesla fans – the company sold just 5,000 Cybertruck models in Q4 of 2025, and built some 30% more “other” vehicles than it delivered. It just gets worse and worse, on today’s tension-building episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got day 1 coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, reports that the Tesla Optimus program is in chaos after its chief engineer jumps ship, and a look ahead at the fresh new Hyundai IONIQ 2 set to bow early next year, thanks to some battery specs from the Kia EV2.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
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