Despite EV headwinds, Rivian’s sales are up

Rivian sold 10,365 vehicles in the first three months of the year, a 20 percent increase year over year. And it produced 10,236 vehicles at its factory in Normal, Illinois, which represents a 30 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The company also reaffirmed its prediction that it will sell 62,000-67,000 vehicles this year.

Rivian’s Q1 report even looked pretty good compared to the previous quarter. Sales were up 6.4 percent, and production was also up about 7.2 percent.

That’s a positive outlook, especially given the challenging year the company just experienced. Rivian’s total customer deliveries fell 18 percent to 42,247 vehicles, alongside an 18 percent production drop to 42,284 vehicles. The fourth quarter was especially brutal, with the company reporting a 31.3 percent drop in sales year over year.

But this was largely expected thanks to the expiration of the federal EV tax credit and increased competition. More broadly, the whiplash policy decisions of the Trump administration have lead to cooling EV demand, with even heavy hitters like Tesla experiencing a steep drop in sales.

Still, Rivian is expecting a big year, with the imminent launch of the R2, and the recent unveiling of its self-driving car ambitions. Uber just invested $300 million in the company as part of a $1.25 billion robotaxi deal. The money comes at an especially important moment. As of the beginning of this year, Rivian said it had about $6 billion in cash, including around $1 billion from its partnership with Volkswagen. But the company will likely spend upwards of $2.5 billion this year alone ramping up the R2’s production.