Electric automaker Rivian exceeded its production target for last year.
The company said Tuesday that it made 57,232 vehicles at its manufacturing plant in Normal in 2023. That's several thousand vehicles ahead of the most recent guidance (54,000). Fourth-quarter production — October, November and December — alone was 17,541 vehicles.
The company delivered 50,122 vehicles in 2023, including nearly 14,000 in the fourth quarter of the year. Deliveries were 10% lower than the previous quarter. The company said earlier this year it expected fourth quarter deliveries to trend lower because Amazon slowed acceptance of ordered vehicles so the online retailer could concentrate on holiday deliveries. A plant shutdown for upgrades also figured into that projection back in October.
Higher interest rates have reduced demand for electric vehicles across the sector. Many automakers scaled back production or cut prices. Rivian has done neither so far. The company earlier announced a planned production pause in the second quarter of 2024.
At the end of the third quarter in October, Rivian reported it had narrowed the per vehicle loss by a couple thousand dollars to less than $29,000 per vehicle by reworking the number of products it offers and lowering supply and labor costs. Previous guidance held out the possibility the company will begin to turn a profitin 2024. Rivian plans to release its fourth-quarter financial results on Feb. 21.
Rivian plans to begin construction of a production plant in Georgia this year. Rivian produces four vehicles — a pickup truck and SUV and two versions of a commercial van — in Normal.
