Rivian Rising: ‘Performance’ R1T Pickup, Improved Amazon Van, Lower-Cost Battery

American electric vehicle maker Rivian is hard to ignore these days — even with the constant din of Tesla news.

What’s driving all of this? Rivian’s share price — it’s been on a hot streak that began back on June 26. As of Friday (when it pulled back) the stock has gained of over 90 percent during that period.

There’s a lot behind the surge including:

Positives include:

• New performance dual-motor AWD model: A new dual-motor R1T pickup (via Electrek) is now available. This model sits between the standard dual-motor and top-of-the-line quad-motor AWD model. The new dual-motor model uses Rivian’s in-house Enduro drive units, while the current pricier quad-motor models use a drivetrain sourced from outside suppliers. The Enduro drive units have already been used in the vans Rivian makes for Amazon.
• Enduro drive unit: the new Enduro drive unit, which began production back in February…“represents for us…a full embodiment of what we believe we’re capable of in terms of both product engineering as well as our manufacturing engineering teams,” Scaringe said during the Q1 earnings conference call.
• LFP battery and IRA-compliant batteries: Rivian is moving to lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery packs, which is driving down costs. And future batteries will be IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) compliant allowing customers to take the full $7,500 tax credit, currently not possible on Rivian cars.
• R1 improvements: CEO Scaringe said in the Q1 earnings conference call: “When we think about the [Amazon electric van] experience…with the ramp of Enduro and the integration of LFP. And that 25% [cost] reduction is really impactful, and we expect to see something similar in R1 as we look over the next couple of quarters in the beginning of next year.”
• Future R2 platform: Rivian’s “business will grow disproportionately” based on the coming R2 platform due by 2026, according to CEO RJ Scaringe, with the “R2 platform representing a significant step up in volume and at a much lower price point, much larger addressable market,” he said to Bloomberg, adding that the R2 will be the “core focus” now for Rivian.
• Vans with Enduro drive unit and LFP battery: Amazon now has 5,000 Rivian-manufactured electric delivery vans (EDV) on the road in the U.S., the e-commerce company said earlier this month. Amazon began rolling out its electric delivery vans to drivers in the summer of 2022. Plans call for having 100,000 electric vans on the road by 2030. During the Q1 earnings conference call Scaringe said that “100% of the…vans are moving to LFP pack configuration and the Enduro drive unit…The introduction of the Enduro [drive unit] and LFP battery pack in EDV enabled us to reduce the EDV bill of materials by approximately 25%.”
• Van in Europe: Amazon has also brought the vans to Europe and recently announced more than 300 will hit the road in Germany.
• Rivian getting foothold in key markets: Rivian is catching on in key markets. Trendy recreational locations such as Lake Tahoe have become hotspots for Rivians. An indication that buyers of vehicles for outdoor adventure and off-road recreation — a key market segment — have bought into the Rivian story.
• Analyst comments (Mizuho): Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh says Rivian noted strong momentum in the first half of the year could push its EV deliveries above expectations. The Mizuho analyst increased the price target for Rivian stock from $27 per share to $30 per share and reiterated a buy rating. (Note that Rivian delivered 12,640 vehicles in the second quarter, beating analyst estimates. It expects to deliver 50,000 vehicles in the fiscal year, more than double the roughly 20,000 units delivered in fiscal 2022.)
• Analyst comments (Wedbush): A price target upgrade from Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, citing “a major turning point” in production (via Yahoo Finance). Ives raised the stock price target to $30 a share from $25.