1. Home
  2. News
  3. Rivian Is Determined To Build 25,000 Cars This Year

The company reaffirmed its commitment despite supply chain woes.

On Wednesday, Rivian said it was going to make 25,000 cars this year. CEO RJ Scaringe already said that earlier this year, after supply chain woes lessened production targets from 50,000 to 25,000 models. Those will include trucks like the R1T and its new Rivian R1S SUV. The brand’s helmsman previously stated that he couldn’t get the semiconductors he needs to hit that 50K target partly because of favoritism in the industry. Suppliers would rather sell their units to an established brand like Ford than new-kid Rivian, per Scaringe.

Regardless, the brand has tried to soldier on and released a letter to its shareholders saying as much. This came shortly after Ford sold shares of Rivian. As a result, shares of the new automaker are down 9.6% as of today, part of a much larger downward trend. In short, it’s not good news.

2022 Rivian R1T Truck Forward VisionRivian

2022 Rivian R1T Truck Front-End ViewRivian

2022 Rivian R1T Truck Rear-Facing ViewRivian

2022 Rivian R1T Truck TableRivian

“We remain focused on ramping production throughout 2022. We believe that the supply chain constraints will continue to be the limiting factor of our production,” the letter stated. Rivian’s letter also stated the brand would be able to double its yearly output if not for current supply shortages. It’s also important to note that these production figures also factor in the electric delivery van the brand is contracted to produce for Amazon.

Obviously, that has investors a little upset. After all, those Ford shares were worth around $125 million and were shares owned by a company that Rivian used to have a very positive relationship with. There were even rumors of a Ford/Rivian project that could reach the market in the future.

Of course, there are some high notes on the horizon for Rivian. Its Georgia factory was given the nod on March 3 and will bring in much-needed cash for the company by way of in-state incentives and increased production capacity. Currently, the brand’s Normal, Illinois plant is the only place making Rivian (and Amazon) vehicles right now.

That said, once the plant is up and running, we could see the tides change for Scaringe and Co. We’ve reported that the plant could churn out as many as 200,000 cars a year, far above even Rivian’s current targets. If that’s the case, there could be a huge win on the horizon.