Rivian shares skid after EV maker recalls nearly all vehicles

Oct 10 (Reuters) – Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc (RIVN.O) fell about 9% on Monday after the electric-vehicle maker recalled nearly all its vehicles, exacerbating investor concerns that the company may not be able to meet its 2023 production target.

The Amazon.com Inc-backed (AMZN.O) firm on Friday recalled about 13,000 vehicles due to a possible loose fastener that could cause the driver to lose steering control.

Rivian started selling its EVs in the third quarter of last year, and has so far delivered 13,198 vehicles. read more

“We have greater concerns on 2023 production expectations,” RBC Capital Markets said in a note on Monday. The addition of battery packs and motors as well as downtime required at the plant to ramp up capacity could derail Rivian’s pace of production, it said.

While the broad recall could hurt the brand and cause lingering credibility issues for future production, Wedbush Securities said in a note, it does not believe the recall would impact Rivian’s production or delivery goals for the year.

Shares of the company fell to $30.79 in early trading – the lowest in over a month. They have fallen 67.3% this year due to a selloff in equities driven by an uncertain macro-economic environment and a production forecast cut.

The company in March cut its 2022 production forecast in half to 25,000 due to sticky supply-chain issues. read more

Wall Street expects Rivian to make 23,590 vehicles this year, according to Visible Alpha.

A local court in Georgia, where Rivian is building its $5-billion manufacturing plant, last week rejected a joint proposal by the state’s Department of Economic Development and the company to secure local incentives for its project in the state.

The local development authority had said in May the company would gain incentives of $1.5 billion from the state.

Reporting by Akash Sriram and Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli

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