US automaker Rivian has posted a disappointing quarterly loss for Q1 2024, though fell in line with analysts’ expectations.

Gross profit per vehicle delivered was $38,784, which includes $15,455 of depreciation and $1,693 of stock-based compensation expense.

The firm said its results were negatively impacted by $9,346 per unit delivered, primarily related to “various supplier and other costs incurred in advance of the new technology changes and parts integration into the R1 platform as part of our cost of revenue efficiency initiatives.”

Total revenues for the first quarter of 2024 were $1,204 million, primarily driven by the delivery of 13,588 vehicles.

It generated negative gross profit of $527 million for the first quarter of 2024 as compared to $535 million for the first quarter of 2023.

Cost of revenues for the first quarter of 2024 includes $171 million of costs as part of our cost of revenue efficiency initiatives primarily related to liabilities incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2024 with suppliers and accelerated depreciation in advance of the updates being made to our Normal Factory during the plant retooling upgrade.

Gross profit losses decreased year-over-year, primarily due to the increased vehicle production and deliveries, reductions in materials costs, and higher average selling prices. During April 2024, Rivian shut down its Normal Factory to introduce new technologies into the R1 platform and retool the R1 production line. It says it expects these upgrades to “further reduce the material and conversion cost of our vehicles as we exit 2024.”

As a result of the retooling upgrade, it expects significant improvement in the material, depreciation, and conversion cost of its vehicles and remains “confident in our path to achieving modest gross profit in the fourth quarter of this year.”

Speaking to Bloomberg TV earlier this week, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said R2 – an affordable, compact SUV – reservations had increased from the initial 68,000 the firm disclosed after the new model was unveiled in March this year.

Rivian says it expects to reduce capital expenditures required to launch the R2 as it is moving the start of production to its facility in Normal, Illinois.

“We are lowering our capital expenditures guidance to $1,200 million, a reduction of $550 million,” with savings from the launch move to Normal to impact 2025 and 2026.

“Rivian posts quarterly loss” was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.

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