Rivian reports that as of the end of October, it has produced and delivered respectively 180 and 156 Rivian R1T electric pickups. New data emerged by the way of the new IPO-related document.

The first R1T rolled off the assembly line in Normal, Illinois on September 14, which means that over about 48 days, the company was producing the R1T at an average rate of nearly 3.8/day (including weekends). That sounds reasonable for a startup and such a complex product.

Rivian R1T sales - October 2021

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So far, nearly all R1T were delivered to Rivian's employees - that would explain why we don't see too many independent reviews and tests yet.

"Nearly all of these vehicles were delivered to Rivian employees, and we expect to ramp deliveries to third-party customers as we increase our production rate."

The most important news is that the production rate is increasing and in December the R1T will be joined by the R1S SUV and Rivian EDV vans for Amazon.

Gallery: 2022 Rivian R1T: First Drive Review

Production plan

According to the plan, by the end of this year, Rivian will produce and deliver more than 1,000 electric vehicles (all types). However, the previous rumors that the company prioritizes the EDV van over R1T/R1S appear to be false.

Here is the latest official Rivian's plan for 2021:

  • Total expected production: over 1,200
    R1T: approximately 1,200
    R1S: approximately 25
    EDV: approximately 10
  • Total expected deliveries: over 1,000
    R1T: approximately 1,000
    R1S: approximately 15
    EDV: approximately 10

As we can see, the focus is on the first model - R1T while the R1S and EDV will barely start in December.

"We plan to launch and commence customer deliveries for the R1S, a three-row seven-passenger sports utility vehicle (“SUV”) in December 2021 following the completion of ongoing vehicle validation and all required testing. By the end of 2021, we intend to produce approximately 1,200 R1Ts and 25 R1Ss and deliver approximately 1,000 R1Ts and 15 R1Ss."

"By the end of 2021, we intend to produce and deliver approximately 10 EDVs."

Pre-orders surges

An interesting thing is that the number of pre-orders has increased over the month of October quite noticeably.

The company had some 48,390 R1T/R1S pre-orders in the U.S. and Canada as of September 30, and as of October 31, it's about 55,400 - 7,010 or 14.5% more.

The current number potentially could last for quite some time. Rivian estimates that it will be able to fill the backlog (those are not orders yet) by the end of 2023.

"As of October 31, 2021, we had approximately 55,400 R1T and R1S preorders in the United States and Canada from customers who each paid a cancellable and fully refundable deposit of $1,000. Based on our current production forecast, we expect to fill our preorder backlog of approximately 55,400 by the end of 2023."

Considering that more orders and pre-orders will placed over the final months of 2021 and 2022, it seems that the production in the first two years is mostly covered by demand.

Rivian says that its plant is equipped to produce up to 150,000 vehicles annually and this level will be reached (on an annualized basis) in early 2024. The plant is expected to handle 200,000 vehicles per year after an upgrade.

"The factory building covers approximately 3.3 million square feet and is currently equipped to produce up to 150,000 vehicles annually. In early 2024, we expect to reach a vehicle build rate, which, when annualized, would result in us using the facility’s current installed capacity."

"We believe that we will be able to increase the annual production capacity of the Normal Factory up to 200,000 vehicles by 2023 as we introduce additional R1 platform variants and expand the facility. Over the next couple of years, we expect to establish additional domestic production capacity in order to support our product development roadmap and fulfill future anticipated demand."

Let's not forget that Rivian has also up to 100,000 EDV vans to produce for Amazon by 2025, including 10,000 in 2022.

You can see more details in the Rivian's Amendment No. 2 to Form S-1.

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