Tesla Rival Rivian Finally Has Good News on Its Electric Vehicles

The electric vehicle industry continues evolving with Tesla  (TSLA) - Get Free Report leading the charge and legacy automakers, such as Ford  (F) - Get Free Report and General Motors  (GM) - Get Free Report, ramping up production to challenge the top EV maker.

Foreign based makers, such as Stellantis  (STLA) - Get Free Report, Volkswagen  (VWAGY) - Get Free Report, Hyundai  (HYMTF) , BMW  (BMWYY) , Nissan  (NSANY)  and Toyota  (TM) - Get Free Report, are making strides to develop their EV programs as the industry continues to grow.

Forget Tesla – We’re all-in on this EV stock

Many of the emerging EV makers are also coming out of China, including BYD  (BYDDY) , Nio  (NIO) - Get Free Report, XPeng  (XPEV) - Get Free Report and Li Auto  (LI) - Get Free Report.

EV Makers Ramping Up Production

Tesla was the world leader in all-electric deliveries for 2022 with over 1.31 million vehicles, or a 40% increase over its 2021 levels. It forecasts that it will produce about 1.8 million vehicles this year with a long-term goal to sell 20 million EVs a year by 2030.

General Motors has said it plans to produce an estimated 150,000 EVs for the year. Ford is projecting annual production of 150,000 units for the Lightning pickup truck by the end of 2023. The Dearborn, Mich., automaker said that it began increasing production of the Mustang Mach E to bring its annual manufacturing run rate to a targeted 210,000 units by year's end.

Stellantis reported it sold a total of 288,000 battery electric vehicles globally in 2022. and has committed to 100% of its European and 50% of its US vehicle sales to be battery electric vehicles, with 75 BEV models and 5 million BEV unit sales, by 2030. The company plans to be 100% electric by 2038. 

Rivian RIVN, which manufactures the R1T pickup truck, R1S SUV and EDV van at its Normal, Ill., plant, delivered only 24,337 vehicles in 2022 after forecasting 25,000, but in February said it expected to produce 62,000 vehicles in 2023. The company also has ambitious plans for 2024, predicting it will significantly surpass 2023 figures, including delivery of 85,000 units of its R1S SUV next year.

In April, Rivian Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough forecast the company will make a profit in 2024, produce 200,000 of its new R2 units in 2026 and double that figure each year, starting with 400,000 in 2027.

Rivian to Reveal New SUV Crossover

As part of its focus on the R2 models, McDonough last week said Deutsche Bank’s Global Auto Industry Conference call that Rivian will reveal its new lower-priced R2 midsized SUV Crossover electric vehicle in early 2024, InsideEVs reported.

The R2 midsized SUV Crossover could have a starting retail price of about $40,000 with a maximum of $60,000. The R1 Pickup, with a range of 400 miles, has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $73,000, while the R1S SUV has a $78,000 MSRP.

The Irvine, Calif.-based company plans to begin production of the R2 SUV Crossover, which doesn't have an official model name yet, in 2026. The Normal factory, which has a 150,000 vehicle capacity, will continue manufacturing the R1 vehicles that will reach about 85,000 units in 2026, while it will produce 65,000 of its Electric Delivery Vans as well. The maximum capacity reach by these two vehicles will require the company to produce R2 vehicles at a new to-be-built plant in Georgia.