Q1 deliveries top estimates, ‘on track’ to hit 2023 production forecast

EV-maker Rivian (RIVN) issued some positive news today to investors, announcing that Q1 deliveries topped estimates for the quarter, and that its annual production forecast is still on track.

For the quarter, Rivian disclosed it delivered 7,946 vehicles, topping Street estimates of 7,752 as compiled by Bloomberg. Rivian also produced 9,395 vehicles, beating estimates of 8,752 vehicles. Rivian currently builds two consumer vehicles, the R1T and R1S, but also makes the EDV electric delivery van.

The company also said it “believes it is on track to deliver on the 50,000 annual production guidance” it provided during its fourth quarter earnings report. Rivian produced slightly less than 25,000 vehicles in 2021, as it suffered from component shortages and production issues at its sole plant in Normal, Illinois.

Earlier in March following the issuing of its production guidance, a report suggested Rivian had said internally that it could make as many as 62,000 vehicles this year, though a Rivian spokesperson tells Yahoo Finance that figure was “taken out of context” and 50,000 remained the official guidance. Rivan also reportedly began the process of moving its manufacturing engineering team, currently spread across the country, to its factory in Normal or corporate headquarters located in Irvine, California. Rivian is reportedly offering team members severance packages if they do not wish to move to closer to a Rivian facility.

On the commercial front, Rivian investor and client Amazon revealed late last week that it now has a fleet of 3,000 Rivian EDV vans in use. Though the original Amazon deal with Rivian called for 100,000 electric delivery trucks by the end of 2030, the Journal reported the two companies were in talks to end their exclusive agreement.

Nonetheless, Rivian’s delivery beat for Q1 is another positive piece of news for a beaten down EV sector, following Tesla’s delivery and production beat. China’s Li Auto, Nio, and XPeng also reported strong delivery numbers for the month of March.

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Finally Rivian stated in its delivery report that it would release first quarter financial results after the market close on May 9th, with the investor call starting at 5:00 p.m. ET.

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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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