Rivian announces US$1.6bn quarterly loss, only US$95m revenue

UPDATE, May 11: Rivian posts huge Q1 loss, small revenue gain

Times are tough for electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian, as the start-up posted a monumental loss to start the year.

For the opening quarter of 2022, the California-based carmaker announced it had recorded a net loss of US$1.6 billion (AU$2.33bn), having only amassed US$95m (AU$138m) in revenue, according to Automotive News.

In the same period a year ago, it lost only US$414m before production began at its facility in Illinois, although its forecast of 25,000 units this year seems a near-impossible task given it has shipped just 1227 vehicles in the opening quarter.

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With more than 90,000 pre-orders for the R1T pick-up truck and R1S SUV, a letter from Rivian to its shareholders says the production issues are the fault of its suppliers.

“Supply chain continues to be the bottleneck of our production,” said Rivian.

“We have been forced to stop production for longer periods than anticipated, resulting in approximately a quarter of the planned production time being lost due to supplier constraints.”

May 10: Rivian stock prices tumble as Ford plans to sell eight million shares

Rivian's share price freefall has continued as reports reveal Ford plans to sell just under 10 per cent of its shares in the manufacturer.

According to CNBC, Ford is looking to move on eight million of its shares in Rivian with the sale to take place through Goldman Sachs after the lockup period passes.

Having purchased 102 million shares for electric vehicle start-up Rivian, Ford posted a quarterly net loss to start the year (further below) thanks to the drop in share prices in Rivian – having gone public in 2021 and dropping from a peak of US$172-a-share to US$22.78 at the time of writing.

April 29: Ford announces US$3.1 billion quarterly net loss due to Rivian stock dive

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Ford's first-quarter revenue has taken a hit to the tune of US$3.1 billion (AU$4.35bn), with its investment in Rivian behind the drop.

The American manufacturer ran at a profit in the opening quarter of the year before its investment in Rivian was taken into account, resulting in the net revenue loss thanks to the EV start-up's value dropping by US$5.4bn (AU$7.58bn).

Rivian went public late last year and quickly became the fifth-highest valued car manufacturer in the world, before its shares took a significant dive from a peak of US$172-a-share on November 16, 2021, to US$32.18 at the time of writing.

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Despite being the first manufacturer to produce an electric truck, Rivian's shares have taken a massive hit

On top of the Rivian issues, Ford recorded a nine per cent quarterly drop of wholesale shipments to 970,000 vehicles, as roughly 53,000 are currently waiting to finish production due to the ongoing parts supply shortage.

Despite this, revenue only fell by five per cent to US$34.5bn (AU$48.44bn), while optimisim remains with a healthy order bank of 400,000 vehicles at the end of March, representing roughly US$17bn (AU$23.87bn) in revenue.

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Ford is encouraged by the strong interest shown in the US for its F-150 Lightning electric pick-up, with CEO Jim Farley believing the EV truck and other premium offerings can lead its bounceback from the loss of revenue.

“The appeal of these products – Bronco, Bronco Sport, Maverick, Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit and now the F-150 Lightning – is undeniable,” said Farley.

“That’s translating into orders, typically with rich configurations that deliver great experiences to those customers and healthy pricing for us. Now, we’re breaking constraints wherever they exist to get more Ford vehicles – including our innovative EVs – to more customers as quickly as possible.”

Production of Ford vehicles has been impacted worldwide, with eight American plants grinding to a halt in February while pauses at its European sites have hit the Focus and Fiesta.