Rivian Automotive, based in Irvine, obtained a big financial boost on Tuesday, while Volkswagen agreed to invest up to 5 billion dollars in a joint venture with the manufacturer of electric trucks in difficulty.
As part of a partnership announced by companies, the German automaker will provide $ 1 billion initially and up to $ 4 billion more over time.
The infusion will give VW the possibility of operating company technology to develop vehicles and software supplied by “Next Generation” battery.
Surprise investment occurs for a difficult period for the electric vehicle market, which has laid economical opposite winds for Rivian and other manufacturers of electric vehicles.
With their elegant design, Rivian trucks and sport utility vehicles initially aroused a lot of interest among investors, fueling massively success The initial public public offer in 2021; The company ended its first day of negotiation worth almost $ 88 billion. Amazon.com is Rivian's largest shareholder.
But analysts said that some car buyers had been postponed According to the high price of the latest Rivian vehicle offer – the company's R1T electric van starts at nearly $ 70,000, while its R1S SUV starts at almost $ 75,000.
Rivian declared a net loss of $ 1.52 billion for the three -month period which ended on December 31, against $ 1.72 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Signs of stress mounted. In March, Rivian Plans reported To build a new manufacturing plant of $ 5 billion in Georgia to save money in the middle of heavy losses.
One month earlier, Rivian announced a reduction of 10% to its workforce and lower production expectations.
Last week, another local manufacturer of electric vehicles – Fisker Group Inc. by Manhattan Beach – deposited for the bankruptcy of chapter 11 Protection after failing to obtain funding from non -disclosed car manufacturers.
At the start of this year, Apple disconnected on its autonomous electric vehicle program, would have spent $ 10 billion over a decade.
And Lucid Motors, a manufacturer of luxury electric vehicles in the city of Bay Area, Newark, received a infusion of $ 1 billion last month from a subsidiary of the Saudi Sovereign Fund – the kind of large funds that Fisker did not have.
Rivian's actions, which were struck earlier this year, jumped 30% in prolonged exchanges on Tuesday. Actions closed $ 11.96.
Tesla Inc., the largest player in the company, was also in a hurry by low sales and a drop in profits. The company said in April that it dismiss more than 10% of his workforce.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
