Various Obstacles Appear, Rivian Delays The Delivery Of Max Packages For Their Electric Car Production

JAKARTA - Rivian Automotive Inc will delay deliveries of electric pickup trucks and sports vehicles with large batteries until 2023, Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said in a letter to customers on Tuesday, December 28, quoted by Reuters.

Scaringe said the bulk of Rivian's roughly 71,000 preorders for the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV in the United States and Canada were for versions of the vehicle with the option of a small battery pack, which provides 314 miles (505 km) of range on a single charge.

“To serve the largest number of preorder holders, we will prioritize building an Adventure Pack with a large battery pack over the next year,” Scaringe said in a letter posted by Rivian subscribers on Reddit, a social media platform.

As a result of that statement, Rivian's stock fell slightly. In trading last Tuesday, Rivian shares closed down 3.9% at 102.87 US dollars.

After the electric vehicle maker reported its first quarterly results as a listed company earlier this month, Scaringe has outlined production challenges by citing global supply chain constraints, the COVID-19 pandemic, a tight labor market, and near-term issues surrounding electric battery module manufacturing.

Rivian itself has now delivered 386 of its 652 vehicles, including pickups and SUVs.

The Rivian's larger battery pack, called the Max pack, is expected to provide 400 miles (644 km) of range on a single charge. But until now there are only 20% of preorders for this Max package.

Rivian said that in early 2022 it will introduce a feature for customers on their Rivian account that will display their current estimated delivery time.