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EV maker Rivian (RIVN) released its third-quarter financial earnings Thursday after the market closed. With fewer deliveries in the quarter, Rivian’s revenue missed expectations. However, the EV maker promises things are looking up from here. Here’s a breakdown of Rivian’s Q3 2024 financial earnings

Earnings preview

Yesterday, Electrek posted a preview of what to look out for in Rivian’s third-quarter earnings. One of the biggest things investors will be watching is Rivian’s top line.

After a supply shortage caused Rivian to lower its production goal for 2024, the company now expects to build between 47,000 and 49,000 vehicles this year, down from the previous 57,000 target.

With another 13,157 EVs built last quarter, Rivian’s production total reached 36,749 through September. To hit its target, Rivian will need to build another 10,251 to 12,251 vehicles in Q4.

Despite this, Rivian still expects slight delivery growth over last year, with between 50,500 and 52,000 units delivered in 2024, up from 50,122 in 2023.

According to Estimize, Rivian is expected to report a loss of $0.96 per share in Q3 2024, an improvement from the 1.19 loss per share last year. Rivian is expected to report revenue of around $1 billion, which would be a 25% drop from the $1.34 billion generated in Q3 2023.

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Rivian R1T (left) and R1S (right) electric vehicles (Source: Rivian)

Rivian Q3 2024 earnings breakdown

Rivian reported third-quarter revenue of $874 million, a nearly 35% drop from Q3 2023 and missing expectations.

The company said higher electric delivery van (EDV) deliveries for Amazon last year was partly the reason for the lower top-line total.

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Rivian Q3 2024 earnings (Source: Rivian)

Rivian posted a gross profit loss of $392 million, down from the $477 million loss last year due to the lower delivery total. Meanwhile, operating losses also fell to $1.17 billion, down from $1.44 billion in Q3 2023.

The company lost $39,130 on every vehicle delivered in Q3 2024, which is up from $30,648 last year and $32,705 in Q2 2024.

Q3 ’22 Q4 ’22 Q1 ’23 Q2 ’23 Q3 ’23 Q4 ’23 Q1 ’24 Q2 ’24 Q3 ’24
Rivian loss per vehicle $139,277 $124,162 $67,329 $32,594 $30,500 $43,372 $38,784 $32,705 $39,130
Rivian loss per vehicle by quarter

Rivian’s net loss in the third quarter was $1.1 billion, down from $1.34 billion last year with a $1.08 loss per share.

The EV maker confirmed it’s still on track for a positive gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2024. Rivian’s CEO, RJ Scaringe, said the company is seeing “meaningful progress” on its material costs with new tech and manufacturing processes.

Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024 2024 YTD 2024 guidance
Deliveries 13,588 13,790 10,018 37,396 50,500 – 52,000
Production 13,980 9,612 13,157 36,749 47,000 – 49,000
Rivian deliveries and production by quarter in 2024

These improvements are meaningful steps toward its next-gen R2, which will launch in the first half of 2026.

Scaringe said Rivian believes R2 will be a “fundamental driver of Rivian’s growth.” It will start at $45,000, nearly half the cost of its current R1S and R1T models.

Once R2 production begins, Rivian expects the new EV will account for most of its output. The company plans to build 155,000 R2 models annually and about 85,000 R1S and R1Ts in Normal.

Rivian's-Q3-2024-earnings
Rivian production plans (Source: Rivian)

Rivian also believes its new alliance with Volkswagen will be “a landmark development for the industry.” The total deal size is up to $5 billion, which Rivian said is a “meaningful financial opportunity.”

The planned investments in addition to Rivian’s current cash and equivalents “are expected to provide the capital to fund Rivian’s operations through the ramp of R2 in Normal, as well as the midsize platform in Georgia,” the company said. This will establish a path to positive free cash flow and meaningful scale.

The company ended the quarter with $6.7 billion in cash and equivalents, including a $1 billion convertible note from Volkswagen. Rivian reaffirmed its (revised) production and delivery targets for 2024.

Due to the lower production outlook, Rivian now expects an EBITDA loss of $2.83 billion to $2.88 billion, compared to the previous guidance of a $2.7 billion loss.

Check back for more following Rivian’s earnings call with investors. We will post updates below.

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Expect Eaton to keep profiting from AI’s spiraling demand for computing power

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A big backlog of projects should keep the company busy for the foreseeable future.

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CATL launches the ‘world’s first ultra-safe’ EV skateboard chassis

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CATL launches the 'world's first ultra-safe' EV skateboard chassis

China’s CATL launched its new Bedrock Chassis on Monday, calling it “the world’s first ultra-safe skateboard chassis.” The global EV battery leader said its newest tech “activates a trillion yuan market” as the new standard for intelligent vehicle design. According to CATL, it will also end the belief that gas-powered cars are safer than EVs.

CATL launches the world’s first ultra-safe EV chassis

On December 24, CATL officially launched the new Bedrock Chassis with “outstanding” safety performance. The company proved it in a video presented during the launch event.

The video showed a prototype model’s front impact at 120 km/h (about 75 mph) without exploding or catching fire. CATL claims its newest tech “sets a new standard for intelligent chassis safety” with comprehensive protection across all scenarios and speed ranges.

According to CATL, the Bedrock Chassis passed the world’s first “highest speed +strongest impact” dual extreme safety test.

In China, the commonly used speed for frontal impact safety tests in the C-NCAP (China New Car Assessment Program) is 56 km/h (35 mph).

At that speed, the collision generates energy equivalent to falling from a 12-meter-high (39-foot) building. At 120 km/h, it’s like dropping 56 meters (183 feet). According to CATL, the collision energy is 4.6 times greater.

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Ni Jun, Chief Manufacturing Officer of CATL, during the Bedrock Chassis launch event (Source: CATL)

During the launch, Ni Jun, CATL’s chief manufacturing officer, said, “Safety is the core of CATL—it’s part of our DNA.”

A trillion yuan market

There has been no previous instance of a new energy vehicle (NEV) “daring to challenge a 120 km/h frontal pole impact test,” the company said during the event.

With a battery-centered design, CATL’s new Bedrock Chassis directly integrates the battery cells into the unit. The design enables it to absorb 85% of the vehicle’s collision energy compared to about 60% by a traditional chassis.

CATL-world's-first-chassis
CATL launches the world’s first ultra-safe Bedrock Chassis (Source: CATL)

The unit features an “ultra-safe battery cell design,” disconnecting the high-voltage circuit instantly within 0.01 seconds. It will then complete the vehicle’s residual high-voltage energy discharge within 0.2 seconds, a new industry record.

CATL boasted that its new chassis design “paves the way for the industry,” but more importantly, “it also overturns the conventional belief that gasoline vehicles are safer than NEVs.”

CATL-world's-first-chassis
CATL launches Bedrock Chassis, the world’s first ultra-safe skateboard chassis (Source: CATL)

The global EV battery leader claims its new Bedrock Chassis “activates a trillion yuan market” and will accelerate the shift toward modular, personalized, intelligent vehicle design. At the launch event, CATL revealed that AVATR will be the first automaker to use the new tech.

CATL is on a “never-ending journey” to create safer batteries and vehicles to accelerate the industry’s shift to EVs.

The news comes after CATL revealed ambitious plans to expand its EV battery swap network last week with its new “Chocolate” SEB batteries. CATL aims to phase out gas stations over the next few years as it rapidly expands battery swap stations across China.

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BYD’s new EV plant in Brazil suddenly halted over ‘slavery-like’ worker conditions

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BYD's new EV plant in Brazil suddenly halted over 'slavery-like' worker conditions

Construction at BYD’s new EV plant in Brazil was suddenly halted Monday after authorities found Chinese workers in “slavery-like” conditions. The workers were hired in China by another firm, and BYD has since cut ties.

Why construction at BYD’s EV plant in Brazil is halted

According to a statement from the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT), 163 workers at the construction site of BYD’s new EV plant in Salvador, Brazil, were “being held in conditions analogous to slavery.”

Construction on the site was halted on Monday after the findings. According to the authorities, Jinjiang Group, one of the contractors BYD hired to build the new EV plant, hired the workers in China.

BYD released a statement saying it has cut ties with Jinjiang and is assisting the victims as it works with Brazilian authorities. All workers will be transferred to hotels. They will not be able to work and will have their contracts terminated.

Alexandre Baldy, senior vice president of BYD Brazil, said the company remains “committed to full compliance with Brazilian legislation, especially with regard to the protection of workers’ rights and human dignity.”

BYD's-EV-plant-Brazil-halted
BYD Dolphin Mini (Seagull) launch in Brazil (Source: BYD)

The MPT statement detailed the extreme “slavery-like” worker conditions. For example, they had one bathroom for every 31 workers, forcing them to wake up at 4 am to get in line to be ready for work at 5:30 am. They slept without mattresses on the bed, and the kitchens operated in “alarming conditions.”

If a worker quit after six months, they would leave the country without any pay after factoring in the cost of a round-trip airplane ticket.

BYD-Shark-Brazil
BYD Shark PHEV pickup (Source: BYD)

BYD said it has held a “detailed review” over the past few weeks. The Chinese EV giant asked Jinjiang several times to improve the conditions.

A joint virtual hearing of the MPT and MTE is scheduled for December 26. The MPT said the need for new “on-site inspections” has not been ruled out. BYD’s new EV plant is set to begin production next year. Check back soon for more updates on the situation.

BYD is already a top-selling EV brand in Brazil. In October, it launched its first pickup, the Shark PHEV. The pickup is BYD’s sixth vehicle in Brazil, joining other popular models like the Dolphin Mini (Seagull), Yuan Plus, and Dolphin.

Source: Bloomberg, Brazil Public Ministry of Labor

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