Electric truck maker Rivian said Tuesday it lost $1.7 billion in the final three months of last year due to production difficulties.
The loss brings the company’s total losses to $6.8 billion in 2022 and underscores the troubles the once-promising start-up is having with competition from Tesla, the electric-vehicle business dominance. Last week, another young automaker, Lucid Motors, said it would lose $2.6 billion in 2022.
“We expect supply chain challenges to continue into 2023, but with greater predictability relative to 2022 conditions,” Rivian said in a statement. The company said it expects to produce 50,000 vehicles this year, roughly double the number in 2022.
Rivian said it brought in $663 million in revenue and delivered 8,054 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2022. On a full-year basis, it would have revenue of $1.7 billion in 2022 and deliver 20,332 vehicles. It produced 24,337 vehicles last year, just shy of its lowered target of 25,000.
The company said it had $11.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of December, down from $18.1 billion a year earlier.
Based in Irvine, California, Rivian makes electric pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and delivery vans. The company has attracted several deep-pocketed investors, including Amazon, which has placed a large order for the manufacturer’s vans. Ford Motor also invested in the company, but ultimately decided not to partner with Rivian and sold most of its stock.
The company’s Normal, Illinois, factory was unable to ramp up production quickly, limiting sales and sending shares tumbling. It was trading at around $19 on Tuesday, down from around $47 a year ago. The company’s shares were down about 8% in after-hours trading after the earnings report.
Rivian said it expects to post a loss of $4.3 billion in 2023, before interest, taxes and other charges.
