Rivian, the electric car manufacturer lost nearly $1.7 billion in the second quarter of 2022. Earlier in 2021, the company lost $580 million in the same period. The buzzy EV company is backed by Ford and Amazon and reported $364 million in revenue in the same time period.
In the previous quarter, the company reported a net loss of $1.59 billion based on $95 million in revenue, beating Wall Street’s expectations for revenue by about $26 million. In its second-quarter earnings report, Rivian said it expects to lose a whopping $5.45 billion in 2022, up from the $4.75 billion estimate it shared in the first quarter due to several factors, including “supply chain challenges” and “raw material inflation.”
Claire McDonough, Rivian’s finance chief said “We’ve seen unprecedented levels of inflation, especially across our raw material inputs and lithium prices.” She further added, “We’ve also experienced increased costs in regard to our expedited freight expenses.”
The California-based SUV and truck maker has said that it has ramped up its vehicle production amid the ongoing supply chain crunch to make deliveries of its first three models. The company has a goal of building 25,000 vehicles by the year’s end.
On a call with analysts on Thursday, Executive RJ Scaringe said, “We weren’t able even to run a full single shift because of component supply,” adding that the production rate improved in the current quarter with the addition of a second shift.
In the second quarter so far, the company has produced 4,401 vehicles. As per reports, it has $15.5 billion in cash on hand which will be helpful for the automaker if it records bigger losses further.
Other new car makers including Elon Musk’s Telsa have faced a similar situation in terms of car production. Musk has even admitted that ‘car manufacturing is hard.’
