US electric car maker: Why Rivian could be dangerous for Tesla

Status: 11/10/2021 2:51 p.m.

So far, Tesla has dominated the US market for electric cars. Now the competitor Rivian has managed a record IPO in New York. The company attacks the electrical pioneer at its most sensitive point.

By Mark Ehren, tagesschau.de

It is one of the largest IPOs in the United States of the past decade: US electric car maker Rivian raised nearly twelve billion US dollars on its debut on the New York technology exchange Nasdaq. Never before has an e-car manufacturer achieved such high proceeds from the issue.

The awareness of the Tesla competitor, in which Amazon is also involved, is increasing rapidly. Rivian’s enterprise value is around $ 76 billion – making the manufacturer more valuable than BMW. Rivian has so far not generated any noteworthy sales. The company has not already delivered much more than 300 pick-ups and SUVs. In the first half of the year, there was a loss of just under a billion dollars.

Pick-ups lead sales lists

Rivian launched its first model in September. The R1T is a pick-up truck that is entering the most important segment of the US auto market. According to the strict US standard, the vehicle should be able to drive up to 640 kilometers on one battery charge. At the end of October there were already 55,000 pre-orders for the vehicle in the USA and Canada.

By European standards, the R1T looks huge with a length of around 5.50 meters and a width of almost 2.10 meters. But in the USA, such models are widespread outside of the metropolises. For 39 years, Ford F-Series pickups have topped the sales lists of all car models in the United States. Last year, with the Chevrolet Silverado and Dodge Ram, two more of these flatbed trucks were second and third of the best-selling cars in the USA.

Color for Tesla truck not yet opened

That shows how important the segment is for the car market there. But Tesla has not yet offered a product here. The futuristic Tesla Cybertruck announced in 2019 will no longer be launched this year. According to the latest announcements, the manufacturer is aiming for production in the coming year at the new production site in Austin, Texas. However, this factory has not yet opened.

The range for the Tesla Cybertruck of over 800 kilometers is no longer mentioned. This apparently repeats the same development as with the Model S. Here Tesla had promised a version with a range of more than 800 kilometers, but backed down again before the car was on the market.

People take photos of Tesla’s newly unveiled, all-electric, battery-powered cybertruck with broken windows after a failed resistance test.

Image: AFP

Competition for Model X

Starting in December, Rivian plans to sell electric SUVs with the model name R1S – starting at a price of 70,000 dollars. This also creates a new competitor for the Model X from Tesla. The US market share of the e-pioneer in the rapidly growing market for all-electric cars from around two thirds is likely to continue to decline.

Rivian is also planning to start selling an electric delivery van in the coming year. The US group Amazon has already ordered 100,000 vehicles of this type, which are to be put into service from next year until 2030.

Amazon and Ford as shareholders

In addition, Rivian and Amazon are closely linked. The mail order company announced earlier this month that it held 20 percent of Rivian. Thus, the IPO is not least a success for Amazon major shareholder Jeff Bezos, who is also emulating Musk in his space plans.

In addition to Amazon, Ford is also involved in Rivian. The traditional company wants to use the newcomer’s electric car platform for its own models. The competition for Tesla is increasing noticeably.

With information from Peter Mücke, ARD-Studio New York.

IPO in New York: Tesla rival Rivian raises $ 10.5 billion

Peter Mücke, ARD New York, 11/10/2021 9:27 a.m.

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