Rivian (RIVN) stock is down Tuesday after releasing Q4 and full-year 2023 results. Despite beating its 2023 production goal, Rivian’s deliveries fell short of Wall St’s expectations.
Rivian stock falls after Q4 deliveries miss expectations
Rivian produced 17,541 vehicles in Q4, delivering 13,972 vehicles in the last three months of 2023. Although deliveries were up nearly 74% from last year, they were short of Wall St’s expectations of over 14,000.
Despite this, the EV maker beat its full-year production goal. Rivian built 57,232 vehicles in 2023, beating its guidance of 54,000. Deliveries reached 50,122, more than double last year’s numbers (24,337).
Rivian raised its 2023 production guidance by 2K in November following Q3 results. The EV maker has outpaced its peers as it continues ramping production at its Normal, IL facility.
Q4 deliveries: 13,972
Q4 production: 17,541
2023 deliveries: 50,122
2023 production: 57,232
The growth comes despite higher interest rates and more competition. Ford said its F-150 Lightning was the best selling electric truck through November, topping the R1T.
After ending its exclusivity agreement with Amazon, Rivian signed AT&T as its second commercial partner last month. The EV maker is also preparing to begin construction on its second manufacturing facility.
The massive $5 billion EV plant in Bryan County, GA will be home to its R2 lineup. Rivian’s R2 will be cheaper with starting prices around $40,000 to $50,000 as it expands the brand. Rivian is expected to hold a ground breaking ceromony in early 2024.
Despite the progress, Rivian’s stock is down 7% in Tuesday’s pre-market trading as investors hoped for higher Q4 deliveries. Rivian shares are still up 17% over the last 12 months.
The news comes after Tesla broke another delivery record with over 484,500 deliveries in Q4 to beat its 1.8 million goal for 2023.
Electrek’s Take
Despite Q4 deliveries missing estimates, Rivian is still on the right track. The company is set to begin construction on its second manufacturing plant as it expands into new markets.
Rivian’s growth has come despite its vehicles costing $70,000 a piece. A cheaper lineup will help accelerate sales, but R2 is not expected to launch until 2026. Until then, Rivian will face more competition with the Tesla Cybertruck rolling out. New EV launches like the Chevy Silverado RST EV, GMC Sierra EV Denali, and Kia EV9 could put further pressure on deliveries.
The EV startup continues improving costs as it looks to achieve profitability. In Q3, Rivian lost around $30.5K per vehicle. Although this is still high, it’s down significantly from $139,277 in Q3 2022.
Investors will be watching Q4 and full year margins closely as Rivian looks to become profitable. Rivian will report Q4 financial results on Feb 21. Check back for more details.
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The California Air Resource Board (CARB) has withdrawn its request to enact the proposed Advanced Clean Fleets rule, which required fleets that are “well-suited for electrification” to reduce emissions through the phase-in of Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) and the banning of commercial diesel sales after 2035.
“Frankly, given that the Trump administration has not been publicly supportive of some of the strategies that we have deployed in these regulations, we thought it would be prudent to pull back and consider our options,” CARB chair Liane Randolph said in an interview. “The withdrawal is an important step given the uncertainty presented by the incoming administration that previously attacked California’s programs to protect public health and the climate and has said will continue to oppose those programs.”
Here’s hoping the BEVs and ZEVs have better luck next round.
Electrek’s Take
While some may celebrate the delay of the Advanced Clean Fleets rule, their celebrations will undoubtedly prove to be myopic and short-lived. The reality is that America is no longer the world leader in technology or transportation that backward organizations like the American Trucking Association believe it to be, and the fact is that delaying a transition to cleaner, more efficient technology will only put the US further behind its economic rivals in Asia and the Middle East.
Even before this Pyrrhic victory for American truck brands that have been slow to push BEVs into production, demand for diesel was at a generational low, and companies like Volvo, Renault, and Mercedes-Benz have been logging millions of electric miles on their deployed trucking fleets.
All of which is to say: if you thought it was going to be hard for American brands to catch up before, it’s going to be even harder now.
In an official announcement released at 8:15PM last night, Walmart-backed electric van company Canoo filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code and will cease operations immediately.
“We would like to thank the company’s employees for their dedication and hard work,” said Tony Aquila, Canoo CEO and one of the company’s largest investors (according to the press release). “We know that you believed in our company as we did. We are truly disappointed that things turned out as they did. We would also like to thank NASA, the Department of Defense, The United States Postal Service (‘USPS’), the State of Oklahoma and Walmart for their belief in our products and our company. This means a lot to everyone in the company.”
As a result of the chapter 7 filing, Canoo will cease operations effective immediately, 8:15PM on 17JAN2025. The next step in the company’s dissolution will see a court-appointed trustee manage the liquidation of the company’s remaining assets.
Electrek’s Take
Rumors fueled by outspoken former employees of Canoo began circling late last year, with furloughed employees urging Oklahoma state leaders to “hold the electric vehicle company accountable” after it shuttered the OK production line that had received more than $100 million in state incentives.
The same employee claims that the company was being wildly mismanaged, and that what few Canoo vehicles the company said it had built in the Oklahoma plant were actually built in Texas, and that no vehicles were actually ever built in OK. “Nothing was functioning,” the unnamed employee said, speaking to local news channel KFOR. “There was no, there was not one robotics line that actually worked to fabricate a part.”
You could argue that the employees should also be held accountable for happily collecting paychecks without actually producing anything this whole time, but that’s a conversation for another day. For now, I’ll be mourning the loss of what could have been a fun little domestic off-roader, and hoping Canoo’s employees find a soft landing and better jobs elsewhere.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $1.2 billion in financing to replace Puerto Rico’s fossil fuel plants with solar and battery storage through 2032.
The DOE’s Loan Programs Office announced two conditional commitments and one loan closing to power producers in Puerto Rico. Each supports a project contracted with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. The announcements include:
The closing of a $584.5 million loan guarantee to subsidiaries of Convergent Energy to finance a 100 MW solar farm with a 55 MW (55 MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) in the municipality of Coamo and BESS installations in the municipalities of Caguas (25MW/100MWh), Peñuelas (100MW/400MWh), and Ponce (up to 100MW/400MWh)
A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $133.6 million to a subsidiary of Infinigen for a 32.1 MW solar farm with an integrated 14.45 MW (4.76 MWh) BESS, and a co-located standalone 50 MW (200 MWh) BESS expansion in the municipality of Yabucoa
A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $489.4 million to a subsidiary of Pattern Energy for three stand-alone BESS in the municipalities of Arecibo (50 MW/200 MWh), and Santa Isabel (50 MW /200 MWh and 80 MW/320 MW), and a 70 MW solar farm with an integrated BESS in the municipality of Arecibo.
If all are finalized, these projects would more than double LPO’s support for utility-scale solar generation and battery energy storage in Puerto Rico.
LPO provides low-cost financing and a rigorous due diligence process, making it a valuable resource for Puerto Rico as it works to rebuild an affordable, reliable, and clean energy system. As a result of reliance on imported fuel, the persistent threat of tropical storms, and underinvested infrastructure, Puerto Ricans today face average energy costs that are twice the US average – all while consuming only one-quarter of the energy of the US per capita.
LPO’s initial loan to a power producer in Puerto Rico, Project Marahu, closed in October 2024, and when complete will add more than 200 MW of solar and up to 285 MW of stand-alone energy storage to Puerto Rico’s grid.
Through its September 2023 partial loan guarantee to Project Hestia, LPO also supports virtual power plant (VPP)-ready rooftop solar and battery storage installations in Puerto Rico. As a nationwide project, Hestia’s sponsor is committed to at least 20% of installations under Project Hestia going to homeowners in Puerto Rico.
As part of its procurement plan, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority seeks to install 1,500 MW of battery storage and requires a minimum capacity of storage to be co-located with each utility-scale solar project. Energy storage systems currently online in Puerto Rico are being dispatched every day.
When including Marahu, LPO’s closed and conditionally committed financing supports over 100% of the capacity Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority aimed to procure under its initial request for energy storage project proposals, the first of six.
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