By Senad Karaahmetovic
Electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) announced Wednesday it had produced over 4,000 vehicles in Q2 2022 and said it expects to meet its target to make 25,000 cars this year.
The company said it made 4,400 R1T pickups and R1S SUVs in the quarter, while 4,467 vehicles were delivered during the period.
Last year, Rivian said it estimated to make 50,000 EVs in 2022 but the company slashed that forecast in half earlier this year due to global supply chain constraints, which have “added a layer of complexity” to its efforts to boost production.
Goldman Sachs) analyst Mark Delaney said the Q2 deliveries beat is important as it “reduces the degree of acceleration needed in 2H to meet full-year production guidance, and will also likely give investors more confidence that the company can grow deliveries further in the intermediate- to longer-term.”
“While we believe supply chain challenges, particularly for semiconductors, continues to limit production for both Rivian and the industry more broadly in the near-term, we expect some gradual improvement in semiconductor availability over the summer, a more meaningful increase later in 2022, and further improvement in 2023,” Delaney added.
As a result, the analyst hiked his CY22 delivery estimates to 23.5K vs. 22K prior.
Shares of Rivian surged over 10% on the news, closing the Wednesday session at $29.66 per share.