Rivian (RIVN) has temporarily paused Electric Delivery Van (EDV) production at its Normal, IL plant due to a parts shortage. A company spokesperson confirmed the news on Friday as Rivian faces its latest hurdle.
Rivian pauses EDV production in Normal
Rivian builds electric delivery vans for its biggest investor, Amazon. The E-commerce giant ordered 100,000 EDVs from Rivian in 2019.
The Rivian-branded delivery vans began rolling out in July 2022, with over 13,500 on US streets two years later. Amazon has even launched Rivian EDVs in Europe. Last year, Amazon accounted for nearly a fifth of Rivian’s revenue alone.
However, the EV maker hit another hurdle as it scales production in Normal. According to Reuters, Rivian has paused EDV production because of a parts shortage.
“A part shortage has temporarily impacted our Electric Delivery Van (EDV) production,” a company spokesperson said in an email on Friday. The spokesperson added, “We expect to recover all missed production.
Rivian’s spokesperson explained that the parts shortage would not affect R1S and R1T production. The setback comes at a critical time as Rivian ramps production following plant upgrades in April.
A pivotal time for a parts shortage
CEO RJ Scaringe said on the company’s Q2 earnings call that the plant retooling was a “pivotal operation event” for Rivian. Scaringe explained the upgrades cut 35% of the cost of materials for its EDVs.
Meanwhile, Rivian built just 9,612 vehicles in the second quarter with the plant shutdown. That’s down from 17,500 in Q4 2023 and 13,980 in the first quarter of 2024.
Rivian’s deliveries were about flat from Q1, with 13,790 vehicles handed over in the second quarter. Following the upgrades, Rivian expects to improve production and cost efficiency.
Rivian said the changes enable a 30% more efficient R1 production line rate, which is expected to help ramp output in the second half of the year.
The EV maker remains on track to build 57,000 vehicles this year. With 23,592 built in the first half of the year, Rivian will need to produce another 33,408 EVs to hit its goal.
Rivian continues introducing new tech, like its new Ascend Tri dive unit, which cuts the total cost by 32% compared to the Origin Quad.
Once Rivian begins building its smaller, more affordable R2 in early 2026, plant output is expected to reach around 215,000 across R1T, R1S, EDV, RCV, and R2. That’s up from around around 150,000 currently.
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