Rivian ramps up deliveries to 4,467 EVs in Q2

Rivian Automotive Inc. said on Wednesday it delivered 4,467 vehicles in the second quarter, a sequential rise of nearly four times, as a ramp-up in production and red-hot demand helped the startup electric-vehicle maker.

The company also said on Wednesday it was on track to meet its annual production target of 25,000 units after output jumped 72% sequentially to 4,401 vehicles in the quarter.

Shares of the company rose 11 percent to $29.82 in morning trading on Wednesday, providing some relief to a stock that has lost almost three-fourths of its value in this year's equities selloff.

"The most important thing for the stock right now is to provide investors confidence on its 2022 forecast," said Redburn analyst Charles Coldicott.

While a broader shift to EVs and surging fuel prices due to the Russia-Ukraine war have fed demand for Rivian's products, the company has struggled to boost output in the face of industry-wide supply chain shortages.

In March, it halved its planned production target for 2022.

CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said Rivian "will need to operate at much higher utilization rates in the second half of 2022 in order to hit its guidance."

The company's plant in Normal, Ill., produces the R1S SUV, the R1T truck and a delivery van for investor and customer Amazon.com. The online retail giant has a stake of about 18 percent in Rivian.

The Illinois factory has an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles and the company has said it intends to increase that to 200,000 by 2023.

Rivian also plans on opening its second plant near Atlanta in 2025 as it expects demand for its vehicles to grow.