Rivian cuts EV delivery outlook

LOS ANGELES: Rivian Automotive Inc. said full-year deliveries will decline more sharply than it anticipated just a month ago over the risk that consumer worries stoked by President Donald Trump's trade war will further dampen demand for electric vehicles.

The company now expects to sell 40,000 to 46,000 battery-powered pickups, SUVs and delivery vans this year, it said Tuesday while reporting first-quarter results.

That's down from as many as 51,000 under its prior forecast, which it reaffirmed in early April.

Still, the company expects to achieve a modest full-year gross profit.

Reducing its sales outlook shows how Trump's tariff policies and related economic worries risk worsening an existing slowdown in EV demand.

Rivian's earlier guidance had factored in potential impacts from changes to trade and other policies, but Trump has since imposed a flurry of tariffs on US trading partners and a 25% duty on imported vehicles and parts.

Those measures and have prompted mainstream US and European automakers to tear up their earnings forecast targets and tally billions of dollars in financial fallout.

Rivian Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe said tariffs could increase the company's costs by $3,000 per vehicle.

Rivian builds all of its cars in the US, and said a majority of its components come from US or comply with a free-trade agreement spanning North America.

Still, "we are expecting our cost structure to increase by a few thousand dollars," Scaringe said in an interview.

"Beyond 2025, it's hard to say anything explicit. It certainly will have a cost impact."

Shifting economic and EV policy is also making consumers more sensitive to higher prices, which could hit sales of Rivian's flagship R1 SUV and pickup models, he said.

The company's upcoming R2 has a lower price and uses batteries made in Arizona, which could help it be more resilient to swings in trade policy.

Rivian stockpiled EV batteries from suppliers in Asia ahead of Trump's tariffs, including cells from suppliers in China and South Korea, Bloomberg News has reported.

The moves were intended to ensure supply continuity and ease potential risks and costs stemming from new tariffs.

Rivian's first-quarter adjusted loss was 41 cents a share, better than the 79-cent average deficit expected by analysts.

The company also reaffirmed its full-year forecast for an adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion.