Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) told investors in March that it will produce 25,000 vehicles in 2022. It has three months and a seemingly tall order to get there.
Through the end of September, Rivian had built just 14,317 electric vehicles — meaning that it will have to build about 10,700 more between now and the end of December to deliver on its promise to investors.
Rivian is confident it can meet its goal. The company has reiterated that guidance several times since March, most recently on Monday when it announced its third-quarter production total.
Wall Street isn’t too concerned, either. As several analysts noted this week, Rivian just had its best quarter for production yet, with 7,363 EVs built between July and September. That’s more than it built in the entire first half of 2022, thanks to a second shift of workers added during the quarter — and thanks to management’s efforts to mitigate the supply-chain woes that Rivian faced earlier in the year.
The company’s stock is off 65% this year, underperforming broader market losses.
Rivian has been ramping up production at its Illinois factory at a relatively steady pace since early this year. So, while supply-chain factors could still complicate its efforts, its third-quarter result seems to put its full-year target in range, analysts say.
This week, one expert pointed out that Rivian’s production rate has gone from an average of about 78 vehicles per week in the fourth quarter of 2021 to about 566 per week in the third quarter of 2022.
RIVN shares gathered 63 cents, or 1.7%, to $36.76.
