Irvine, California-based Rivian (RIVN) has temporarily halted production of its pure battery-electric Amazon commercial delivery van due to a parts shortage at its Normal, Illinois factory, a company spokesperson confirmed to Clean Trucking Friday morning.
“A part shortage has temporarily impacted our Electric Delivery Van (EDV) production,” the spokesperson said in an email, adding that “we expect to recover all missed production."
The parts shortage does not affect production of the R1T and R1S passenger EVs. Rivian did not provide details regarding which specific part(s) or supplier(s) are related to the shutdown, or when it started.
The EDV accounted for a fifth of Rivian's total revenue last year.
Shares of the battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturer were down slightly following the announcement.
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Rivian is the sole supplier of Amazon's immensely popular delivery vans, having signed a contract with the retail giant back in 2019 for a 100,000-unit order to be deployed in full by 2030.
Clean Trucking has reached out to Amazon seeking comment and will update this space if a relevant reply is received. Amazon is Rivian's largest stakeholder with a 16% stake.
The vans first rolled off the production line in July 2022. The plant was also upgraded last April to accommodate increased production for all of the company's EVs. Rivian founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, stated during a Q2 earnings call that these upgrades cut 35% of material costs.
To date, there are nearly 14,000 EDVs on U.S. streets. Amazon has since launched the van in Europe with plans in place to increase their numbers.
Last April, Rivian temporarily halted production on its $5 billion assembly plant in Social Circle, Georgia in order to save money for production of the all-new R2 passenger SUV at its Illinois plant. Rivian stressed at the time it remains fully committed to the Georgia facility.
