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Rivian, afaik, already had production delays, and are struggling to meet even Amazon's 100k order. What happens to new vans produced if the clause were to be li

by ctvo 4y ago

Rivian, afaik, already had production delays, and are struggling to meet even Amazon's 100k order. What happens to new vans produced if the clause were to be lifted? Does Amazon get preferential treatment? Do they sell the new vans to the highest bidder? Amazon's follow-up orders? Amazon owns almost 20% of the company so this is interesting. Rivian being more profitable doesn't necessarily make the trade-offs worthwhile for Amazon.

taylorhou 4y ago
agreed. if they fulfilled even 80% of their original order, maybe this would make sense.
shiftpgdn 4y ago
These talks obviously are going to take a long time with a big company like Amazon. Rivian probably wants to start filling their order book for 2024/2025 which can help them secure additional financing to keep the company going.
Zigurd 4y ago
Fleet sales take several month to a couple years to close. They have to start now.
legitster 4y ago
Amazon's 100k order was probably a mostly symbolic way to make it easier for Rivian to acquire funding. Production seems to be underway and demand for their vehicles is really strong. Being that Amazon is not really in a rush to pay for the vans right now anyway, letting Rivian get a little healthier on the books may very well be a good idea.
newsclues 4y ago
Might as well start working on economies of scale for the future if you know the product will be popular and sell. Starting to get consumer sales started will help to anticipate demand and plan part orders etc.
t3rabytes 4y ago
Other outlets (The Verge) are reporting that Amazon actually only ordered their contractual minimum of 10k instead of the reported 100k, no source cited though.
- jlmorton 4y ago
  Just for 2023, though. They're still planning to take delivery of 100k by 2030. I don't think we know the unit cost of a Rivian EDV, but at $100k per vehicle, 10,000 vans is a $1 billion order.
  - vasco 4y ago
    > 10,000 vans is a $1 billion order Luckily they only lost $6.8 billion last year.
dawnerd 4y ago
Also doesn’t mean that Rivian instantly starts making vans for anyone else, might just allow them to advertise out the van platform to normal consumers or fleets. I could totally see them selling it directly - esp to the van life and small businesses.
- ctvo 4y ago
  The vans are amazing. I do a double take every time I see them on the road. This is a thorough tour, and I want one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CWCqJl0BEs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CWCqJl0BEs i

by ctvo 4y ago

taylorhou 4y ago

agreed. if they fulfilled even 80% of their original order, maybe this would make sense.

shiftpgdn 4y ago

These talks obviously are going to take a long time with a big company like Amazon. Rivian probably wants to start filling their order book for 2024/2025 which can help them secure additional financing to keep the company going.

Zigurd 4y ago

Fleet sales take several month to a couple years to close. They have to start now.

legitster 4y ago

Amazon's 100k order was probably a mostly symbolic way to make it easier for Rivian to acquire funding. Production seems to be underway and demand for their vehicles is really strong. Being that Amazon is not really in a rush to pay for the vans right now anyway, letting Rivian get a little healthier on the books may very well be a good idea.

newsclues 4y ago

Might as well start working on economies of scale for the future if you know the product will be popular and sell. Starting to get consumer sales started will help to anticipate demand and plan part orders etc.

t3rabytes 4y ago

Other outlets (The Verge) are reporting that Amazon actually only ordered their contractual minimum of 10k instead of the reported 100k, no source cited though.

jlmorton 4y ago
Just for 2023, though. They're still planning to take delivery of 100k by 2030. I don't think we know the unit cost of a Rivian EDV, but at $100k per vehicle, 10,000 vans is a $1 billion order.
- vasco 4y ago
  > 10,000 vans is a $1 billion order Luckily they only lost $6.8 billion last year.

dawnerd 4y ago

Also doesn’t mean that Rivian instantly starts making vans for anyone else, might just allow them to advertise out the van platform to normal consumers or fleets. I could totally see them selling it directly - esp to the van life and small businesses.

ctvo 4y ago
The vans are amazing. I do a double take every time I see them on the road. This is a thorough tour, and I want one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CWCqJl0BEs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CWCqJl0BEs i