Rivian beats estimates for deliveries in the second quarter of the year

(Reuters) – Rivian Automotive on Monday beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly delivery on stable demand for its electric vehicles, sending shares of the company up 10% in early trade.

Amazon-backed Rivian is struggling to raise production, pressured by supply chain disruptions and a price war started by market leader Tesla.

The Irvine, California-based startup that makes R1T pickup trucks and R1S SUVs is developing its own drive unit to cut costs and reduce dependence on suppliers.

Rivian, which in February announced layoffs of 6% of its workforce, reiterated its annual production target of 50,000 units.

Claire McDonough, CFO, said last month that the company expects demand for its pickup trucks and SUVs to remain stable through the year.

Rivian’s second-quarter vehicle deliveries jumped 59% to 12,640 vehicles, compared to an estimate of 11,000 vehicles, according to 15 analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

It produced 13,992 vehicles at its Normal, Illinois manufacturing facility during the same period, 4,597 more than in the first quarter.

Rivian’s report follows Tesla’s industry-leading record-breaking second-quarter deliveries on the back of its price-cutting strategy.

(Reporting by Shafi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shonak Dasgupta and Vinay Dwivedi)