Rivian cuts EV delivery outlook, sees tariff impact

Rivian Automotive said full-year deliveries will decline more sharply than it anticipated just a month ago, citing risks that US President Donald Trump’s trade war will further dampen demand for pricey electric vehicles (EVs).

The company now expects to sell 40,000 to 46,000 battery-powered pickups, SUVs and delivery vans this year, it said on Tuesday (May 6) 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 trade 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 per cent duty on imported vehicles and parts.

Those measures have prompted mainstream US and European automakers to tear up their earnings forecasts and prepare for billions of US dollars in financial fallout.

Rivian chief executive officer RJ Scaringe said tariffs could increase the company’s costs by a few thousand US dollars per vehicle. Rivian builds all of its cars in the US, and said a majority of its components – excluding battery cells – 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 US dollars”, Scaringe said. “Beyond 2025, it’s hard to say anything explicit. It certainly will have a cost impact.”

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Rivian’s shares fell 1.5 per cent in after-hours trading on Tuesday. The stock had gained 1.9 per cent to Monday’s close, better than a 3.9 per cent decline in the S&P 500 Index.

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.

The company has no plan to change that vehicle’s US$45,000 starting price due to tariffs, Scaringe said.

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 chief financial officer Claire McDonough said the company has enough battery cells in the US to support production into early next year.

Rivian’s first-quarter adjusted loss was 41 US cents a share, better than the 79 US cent average deficit expected by analysts. The company also reaffirmed its full-year forecast for an adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of US$1.7 billion to US$1.9 billion.

Sales of regulatory credits helped Rivian post a second consecutive quarterly gross profit, totalling US$206 million in the first three months. BLOOMBERG