Rivian said on Friday it will build fewer vehicles this year than it did in 2023 due to a supply chain problem that popped up in the third quarter and has now “become more acute in recent weeks.”
The company did not specify the components impacted, only saying that it is one shared by its R1 platform (which powers its pickup and SUV) and the RCV commercial van, and that it is located in the electric motors.
Rivian now expects to build between 47,000 and 49,000 vehicles in 2024, a big step down from the 57,000 target it was promoting as recently as July.
The company also delivered fewer EVs in the third quarter than it did in the second. Only 10,018 Rivian vehicles made it into customers’ hands in Q3, down from 13,970 in Q2. Rivian’s chief financial officer, Claire McDonough, warned on a conference call in August that deliveries would dip because it had sold a lot of inventory in the second quarter.
On Friday, Rivian said Friday that it still believes it hit its full-year target of shipping between 50,500 and 52,000 vehicles.
The trouble comes at a precarious time for Rivian. Broadly, the company has its eyes set on the launch of its lower-cost R2 SUV in 2026, but 2024 was likely to be a relatively flat year of growth compared to 2023. It has therefore focused on cost-saving measures — it laid off 10% of its workforce in February, and put on hold its plans to build a brand new facility in Georgia. It also recently revamped its R1T pickup and R1S SUV, simplifying their design to lose less money on each sale.
This story has been updated with information from Rivian’s CFO shared in August about delivery figures.
