Rivian Automotive, a vehicle manufacturing company in Michigan led by CEO RJ Scaringe and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Miller, announced their COO is leaving the role amid production ramp. The announcement comes after months of rumors that Rivian had been struggling to raise enough funding to finish its production plan.
The “rivian truck release date” is a story about the departure of the Chief Operating Officer of Rivian, who has left amid production ramp.
Rivian RIVN -5.61 percent Automotive Inc.’s chief operating officer quit the firm last month, just as the company was ramping up production of its first three models.
By the end of 2021, Rivian had built over 1,000 automobiles, according to a business representative. Rivian had warned earlier this month that it would likely fall short of its aim of 1,200 automobiles built last year.
Rod Copes left Rivian in December, according to a spokesman on Monday. She claimed Mr. Copes’ retirement had been planned for months and that his responsibilities had been taken on by the leadership team. Mr. Copes was still listed as the company’s operations head on Rivian’s website as of Monday afternoon.
Rod Copes was a former official with the Royal Enfield motorbike firm before retiring from Rivian in December.
Mike De Sisti/Zuma Press photo
Mr. Copes could not be contacted for comment right away. He was an executive with motorcycle businesses Royal Enfield, a subsidiary of India’s Eicher Motors Ltd., and Harley-Davidson Inc. before joining the company in June 2020.
Rivian’s stock fell 5.6 percent to $81.44 on Monday, while the market fell as a whole. Following the announcement of Mr. Copes’ departure, shares fell 4% in after-hours trade.
Rivian raised $13.7 billion in November in the biggest initial public offering (IPO) on a US market since 2014. The stock soared in the first few days of trade, reaching a high of $172.01 on the fifth day of trading after debuting at $78. Its market value surpassed that of Ford Motor Company and General Motors Company.
Since then, the stock has been steadily declining. Rivian’s stock plummeted in December when CEO and founder RJ Scaringe warned analysts on the company’s maiden earnings call that the business projected to miss its production objective.
Legacy automakers encroaching on Rivian’s primary business lines have been putting pressure on the stock lately. Last Monday, global automaker Stellantis NV, which owns the Ram and Chrysler brands, said that it had reached an agreement with Amazon.com Inc. to begin delivering electric delivery vans in 2023.
Rivian also has an agreement with Amazon, which owns roughly 19 percent of the company, to acquire 100,000 vehicles, which the company expects to complete by the end of 2025. Amazon and Rivian spokeswomen stated their cooperation is still intact, and both firms anticipate Amazon to purchase automobiles from a variety of sources.
Other companies are close to bringing electric pickup trucks to market, reducing Rivian’s R1T pickup truck’s first-mover advantage. Rivian’s R1T pickup truck, which began sales in September and is the only electric pickup truck on the market, is the only electric pickup truck available in the United States. Ford expects to start selling an electric version of its F-150 truck this spring, while GM said last week that a new electric Silverado pickup would be available in 2023. Ford and GM have both outperformed Rivian in terms of value.
Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer, targeted a value in the tens of billions of dollars for its initial public offering. But what sets it apart from other electric vehicle start-ups? George Downs of the Wall Street Journal explains. George Downs’ illustration
Vehicles that run on electricity
More industry coverage from the Wall Street Journal, as chosen by the editors
Ben Foldy can be reached at [email protected].
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‘Rivian’s COO Departs Amid Output Rise,’ appeared in the print edition on January 11, 2022.
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