Rivian Hires Frank Klein as Chief Operations Officer - Newsroom - Rvian

Rivian

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Rivian Automotive, Inc.

Type	Public company
Traded as	Nasdaq: RIVN Russell 1000 component
ISIN	US76954A1034
Industry	Automotive Energy storage
Founded	2009
Founder	Robert "RJ" Scaringe
Headquarters	Irvine, California , U.S.
Number of locations	8
Key people	Robert "RJ" Scaringe (CEO) Claire McDonough (CFO) Frank Klein (COO)
Products	Electric vehicles Batteries
Services	Electric vehicle charging
Revenue	US$55 million (2021)
Operating income	US$–4.2 billion (2021)
Net income	US$–4.7 billion (2021)
Total assets	US$22.3 billion (2021)
Total equity	US$19.5 billion (2021)
Number of employees	c. 11,500 (March 2022)
Website	rivian.com

Rivian Automotive, Inc. is an American electric vehicle automaker and automotive technology company founded in 2009. Rivian is building an electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pickup truck on a "skateboard" platform that can support future vehicles or be adopted by other companies. An electric delivery van is also being built as part of a partnership with Amazon. Rivian started deliveries of its R1T pickup truck in late 2021. As of March 2022, the delivery van and R1S SUV were still in development. The company plans to build an exclusive charging network in the United States and Canada by the end of 2023.

Rivian is based in Irvine, California, with its manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois, and other facilities in Palo Alto, California; Carson, California; Plymouth, Michigan; Vancouver, British Columbia; Wittmann, Arizona; and Woking, England. Additionally, Rivian has plans to build another $5 billion factory in Georgia.

The company raised over $13.5 billion in financing following its IPO in November 2021, which also saw investor recognition that it could become a major competitor to Tesla.

History[edit]

The company was founded in 2009 as Mainstream Motors by Robert "RJ" Scaringe. After being renamed as Avera Automotive and finally Rivian Automotive in 2011 (a word play on the Indian River in Florida, where Scaringe grew up), the company began focusing on autonomous and electric vehicles.

Rivian's first car model was intended to be a sports car. This vehicle, dubbed the R1, was prototyped as a mid-engine hybrid coupe for the U.S. market, designed by Peter Stevens. However, it was shelved in late 2011 as Rivian looked to restart its business in an effort to have a larger impact on the automotive industry.

Rivian received a large investment and grew significantly in 2015, opening research facilities in Michigan and the Bay Area. Shortly thereafter, Rivian began working exclusively on electric autonomous vehicles, in an attempt to build a network of related products. It also began gearing its prototypes toward the "ride-sharing and driverless car markets."

By September 2016, Rivian was negotiating to buy a manufacturing plant formerly owned by Mitsubishi Motors in Normal, Illinois. In January 2017, Rivian acquired the plant and its manufacturing contents for $16 million, with the plant to become Rivian's primary North American manufacturing facility. Rivian's acquisition of a near production-ready facility instead of building a new factory has been likened to Tesla's acquisition of the NUMMI plant in California.

In December 2017, Rivian revealed its first two products: an electric five-passenger pickup truck and an electric seven-passenger SUV, provisionally named the A1T and A1C, respectively. In November 2018, the truck and SUV were renamed the R1T and R1S, respectively, and unveiled at the LA Auto Show. Both vehicles were described as ready for rough terrain and semi-autonomous, and the company outlined a plan for its next generation of models to be fully autonomous. Production was scheduled to begin in 2020.

Rivian had 250 employees at the start of 2018. By February 2019, however, Rivian was employing 750 people across facilities in Michigan, Illinois, California, and the United Kingdom. In November 2020, Rivian employed 3,000-plus workers. Over the span of another year, employment roughly tripled, and in November 2021, Rivian was listed as having 9,000-plus employees.

In late 2020, Rivian planned to begin shipments of the R1T in June 2021. The June 2021 date later slipped to August. By August, vehicle shipments were delayed again, in part due to the global shortage of chips. In September 2021, Rivian became the first automaker to bring a fully electric pickup to the consumer market, beating industry mainstays such as GM, Ford, and Tesla. In October 2021, Rivian began delivering the R1T truck to customers.

On November 10, 2021 Rivian became a public company through an IPO. 153 million shares were sold at an initial offering price of $78.00, valuing the company at $66.5 billion. The shares began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker "RIVN." On its first trading day, the stock closed at $100.73 per share, valuing the company just under $100 billion.

On November 19, 2021, Ford and Rivian announced that the two automakers no longer plan to co-develop an electric vehicle. Ford announced the company would retain a 12 percent stake in Rivian, which reached a value of more than $10 billion after the IPO.

In December 2021, As the same time that Rivian began to deliver their R1S SUV's, Rivian's chief operations officer, Rod Copes, stepped down and retires from the company as they began to ramp up production of their vehicles.^[1]

On March 1, 2022, Rivian announced price increases of 17% for the R1T and 20% for the R1S, citing a shortage of semiconductors and higher costs for other components. There was immediate backlash from customers that had previously made reservations as the price hike would also affect their preorders. Rivian later apologized for the retroactive price increases and stated that the original configured price would be honored for anyone with a Rivian preorder as of the March 1 pricing announcement.

On March 14, 2022, Rivian announced the company is hiring Frank Klein as their COO or Chief Operations Officer. Klein will begin to work for Rivian effective June 1st 2022.^[2]

Vehicles[edit]

Designed to be capable off-road, both models have 14 in (360 mm) of ground clearance. The truck was claimed in early testing to be able to accelerate from 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in under 3 seconds, wade through 3 ft 7 in (1.1 m) of water and climb a 45 degree incline. The truck has a motor near each of the four wheels, and like some competitors, each wheel can be controlled interdependently. According to Engadget, "the most expensive models will reach around 450 miles [720 km] on a charge and feature [an] 800HP [600 kW; 810 PS] electric motor Scaringe said would beat Italian supercars." Rivian has said it is designing the vehicles to facilitate "carsharing" with their autonomous features. In addition, Rivian announced the intention to make an electric delivery van in three different sizes, capable of carrying 500, 700 or 900 cubic feet of packages. All three would share their basic electrical and network architecture, ECUs and battery packs with the Rivian R1 models.

As of December 2021, Rivian reported that it has over 71,000 pre-orders for its R1 models.

R1T[edit]

Main article: Rivian R1T R1T 2021 The R1T features four electric motors, two located on each axle (front and rear). The front two motors produce 415 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque while the rear two motors produce 420 horsepower and 495 lb-ft of torque. The result is a Rivian-claimed 0–60 mph time of 3.0 seconds.

The Rivian R1T is offered with three battery sizes: 105 kWh, 135 kWh, or 180 kWh. The R1T has a projected range of 230 miles with the smallest battery, 314 miles with the medium battery and over 400 miles with the largest battery. Extra batteries can be mounted in the R1T's bed for improved range. Those backup/auxiliary batteries can be charged by another R1T, if no charging infrastructure is available.

In December 2021, the R1T was named the Motor Trend Truck of the Year. R1S SUV at the 2018 LA Auto Show

R1S[edit]

The R1S is a sport utility vehicle version of the first Rivian platform. Because of a shared electric chassis, the R1S design aimed, as of 2018, to have 91 percent shared components with the R1T. The chassis includes braking, suspension and cooling systems with a battery in the center. Rivian's relatively flat, low center of gravity chassis is a typical electric vehicle skateboard, which enables straightforward modification for different body types.

Amazon electric delivery van[edit]

Rivian entered into a commercial agreement with its investor Amazon, Inc. in February 2019. By September 2019, Amazon's Logistics division had agreed to collaborate with Rivian to design, produce, and purchase 100,000 electric delivery vehicles (EDVs). Initial plans suggested a first delivery date in 2021. As of 2019, Amazon expected to have as many as 10,000 electric vans in operation by 2022, but was not planning to take delivery of the entire 100,000 Rivian vans the contract calls for until 2030. The Rivian collaboration is part of Amazon's plan to convert its delivery fleet to 100% renewable energy by 2030.

The van is slated to be built in three sizes, carrying 14 m³ (500 cu ft), 20 m³ (700 cu ft), or 25 m³ (900 cu ft) of packages, each with the same stand-up interior height, but with a narrower smallest model. All of the vans will be built on the same platform — basic electrical and network architecture, ECUs, and battery-pack design — as the Rivian R1 models, and will use a basic single-motor e-axle drive unit. The van is to be produced exclusively for Amazon, and will be built with a steel chassis on a "low-feature-content" assembly line to keep costs down. The van is explicitly designed to allow Amazon to reduce costs and shrink its carbon footprint.

A 150-mile (240 km) prototype for the Amazon electric delivery van was tested on public roads in early 2021. Testing began in Los Angeles and San Francisco. By April 2021, testing was being conducted in Denver with plans to test in 16 U.S. cities in different climate zones. Tests in Oklahoma and Michigan were underway by July 2021.

Amazon contracted Rivian to eventually deliver 100,000 electric delivery vans. Amazon also will source electric vans and three-wheelers from other OEMs, such as Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz Group, and Mahindra.

EV charging[edit]

In March 2021, Rivian announced ambitious plans to develop a network of public charging stations across the United States and Canada by the end of 2023. Similar to competitor Tesla, it plans to offer a combination of fast chargers and slower destination chargers and also sell home chargers. The target for the charging network is set for 600 Rivian-exclusive Adventure Network sites made up of 3,500 DC fast chargers at high-traffic locations; 200 kW will be the initial charging speed, with an eventual target of 300 kW.

The company is also planning 10,000 destination chargers (Level 2, 11.5 kW) — called "Rivian Waypoints" — at retail, lodging and dining businesses, as well as parks and other locations; Waypoint chargers are designed to be usable by all electric vehicles with a J1772 connector. Starting July 2021, Rivian planned to install two Rivian Waypoint chargers at up to 50 Colorado State Parks and state recreation areas. However, by October, none had yet been installed as the contract was still making its way through state government bureaucracy with first installations expected in early 2022. In September 2021, the first Waypoint 11.5 kW chargers were installed near Moab, Utah.

In July 2021, Rivian and the state of Tennessee announced plans to install Waypoint chargers at all 56 Tennessee State Parks, saying that "Rivian will begin site surveys and engineering over the summer, with installation beginning as early as fall 2021". The first site, Radnor Lake State Park, was unveiled on October 1, 2021.

Facilities[edit]

First Rivian R1T rolls off the Normal, Illinois, assembly line, September 2021.

Rivian is headquartered in Irvine, California with its location focusing on vehicle engineering and design, propulsion and battery system development, and commercial functions. Rivian's sole production factory in Normal, Illinois, manufactures vehicle components, such as battery packs. The 2.6-million-square-foot (240,000 m²) plant has a paint shop, robotics, stamping machines, and other production equipment, such as injection molding. Rivian's facility in Plymouth, Michigan, focuses on vehicle engineering, prototyping, supply chain, and accounting. Rivian's facility in Palo Alto, California, focuses on software development and engineering, including self-driving features. The company has additional office locations in Carson, California, and Woking, England, working on electric power conversion and advanced engineering, respectively.

Rivian's Normal factory has steadily grown over the years. In July 2020, Rivian's plans for additions totaling 576,000 sq ft to its production facility were approved by the city council. In October 2021, Rivian made public plans to grow the facility with a 623,000 sq ft (57,900 m²) addition to be built on the west side of the existing facility, which if built would bring the total Rivian facility size to 3,900,000 sq ft (360,000 m²).

In December 2021, Rivian announced plans to build a $5 billion battery and assembly plant east of Atlanta. Construction is planned to begin in summer 2022 with car production beginning in 2024 with plans to manufacture up to 400,000 vehicles a year. The plant is currently projected to employ 7,500 workers with possible growth to 10,000 workers.

Finances[edit]

As of December 2021, Rivian is a public company trading under the symbol RIVN on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Funding[edit]

From initial seed stage capital invested by CEO Scaringe in 2009 to its final $2.5 billion round in 2021, Rivian secured 10 rounds of private funding to support the completion of development of line of its vehicles and build out to support production. On November 10, 2021, the company completed its initial public offering, raising $13.5 billion.

Private capital funding[edit]

	This section is in list format but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this section, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (January 2022)

2011 – The company filed a Form D, reporting debts and warrants totaling $250,000.

2012 – The company filed a second Form D, reporting debts and warrants totaling $1 million Jeddah-based investment firm Abdul Latif Jameel claims to have been the company's earliest investor.

2013–2016 – There were no filings or announcements of funding for Rivian. Cumulative funding remained at $1.25 million.

2017 – In January 2017, at the time the company acquired the former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois, Rivian received a $1 million grant and a five-year tax abatement from Normal, contingent on meeting certain employment targets and investing $40.5 million over five years. Rivian also received $49.5 million in tax credits from the Illinois state government; these credits are also contingent upon meeting employment targets and investing at least $175 million into the site by 2024.

Sumitomo Corporation made a "large strategic investment" in Rivian in December 2017. The amount was not disclosed.

2018 – Announced on May 23, 2018, Rivian closed on $200 million in debt financing from Standard Chartered Bank, bringing total raised funds to upwards of $450 million. Other backers at the time included existing investors Abdul Latif Jameel and Sumitomo Corporation.

2019–2020 – Announced on February 15, 2019, Amazon led an investment round of $700 million into Rivian. The round included participation from existing shareholders.

Announced on April 24, 2019, Ford Motor Company invested $500 million at a pre-money valuation of $4.5 billion.

Announced on September 10, 2019, Cox Automotive invested $350 million into Rivian, bringing the total raised in 2019 to $1.5 billion. Rivian remained independent, but Cox Automotive planned to add a representative to Rivian's board as part of the investment.

On 19 November 2021, Ford and Rivian announced that they no longer plan to co-develop an electric vehicle. Originally, both companies had planned the joint development of a vehicle for Ford’s luxury Lincoln brand. Those plans were canceled in 2020. Ford continued to hold a stake in Rivian, valued at over $10 billion as of November 2021.

In December 2019, Rivian announced it raised US$1.3 billion in a round led by investment manager T Rowe Price with existing investors Ford and Amazon, alongside new investors London/New York firm Pario Ventures and BlackRock-managed funds.

2021 – Announced on January 19, 2021, Rivian raised $2.65 billion led by existing investor T. Rowe Price alongside Soros Fund Management, Fidelity Management & Research, Coatue Management, BlackRock-managed funds, Abdul Latif Jameel, and Amazon, now through its Climate Pledge Fund, plus new investors D1 Capital Partners. Abdul Latif J holds almost 114 million shares in Rivian acquired through $303 million of loans made to the company. Bloomberg estimated the company's value at nearly $28 billion.

Announced on July 23, 2021, Rivian raised $2.5 billion in a round led by Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, D1 Capital Partners, and Ford Motor Company, alongside existing investors T. Rowe Price, Coatue Management, Fidelity Management & Research. New investors Third Point Ventures and Dragoneer Investment Group joined the round.

Initial public offering[edit]

In August 2021, Rivian filed for an initial public offering, seeking a valuation as high as $80 billion. By then, the firm had raised a total of approximately $11 billion.

In November 2021, Rivian completed its IPO with net proceeds to the firm of $13.5 billion. While initial price targets were in the $58 to $62 range, the actual offering price was $78.00 per share. On its first trading day, the stock closed at $100.73 per share with a market value of just under $100 billion. At that value, it was worth more than General Motors or Ford and was behind only Tesla in terms of the market cap of automakers. CEO R.J. Scaringe's ownership of 17.6 million shares was worth approximately $2 billion.

Amazon purchased $200 million of stock in the IPO, raising its total stake in Rivian to 22%. Previously, in October 2021, Amazon stated that it owned a 20% stake in the company.

Collaborations[edit]

On December 20, 2018, professional rock climber Alex Honnold announced his partnership with Rivian as a brand partner and collaborator. During a live stream on June 15, 2019, Rivian announced plans to collaborate with the Honnold Foundation and nonprofit Casa Pueblo on a solar project aiming to establish a microgrid in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, a city that was severely affected by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Rivian planned to repurpose used battery packs from its development vehicles into stationary energy storage units. The microgrid is intended to grant residents access to electricity for core business and will be used daily to mitigate the high cost of energy in Puerto Rico, which is twice the U.S. national average. The project was expected to launch in 2020.

In 2019, Rivian partnered with actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman to provide the first ever production pickups (VIN 000001 and 000002) for use as logistics vehicles and camera cars for the British TV series Long Way Up. They also set up 240 level 2 and level 3 charging stations at 140 locations, along the route from Tierra del Fuego to Los Angeles.

Legal proceedings[edit]

In July 2020, Tesla sued Rivian for allegedly stealing proprietary information, as well as for poaching employees.

In March 2021, the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association filed a lawsuit against both Rivian and its competitor Lucid Motors for their plans to sell electric vehicles directly to consumers.

In November 2021, Rivian's former sales and marketing vice president Laura Schwab filed a suit against the company, claiming she was fired a month after raising concerns of discrimination and Rivian being a "boys' club" to the company's HR department. Schwab also indicated that she warned company executives of their vehicles being underpriced and the manufacturing process not conforming to security standards. According to the lawsuit, issues raised by her would be ignored until male colleagues raised the same issue.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rivian Automotive.

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This page was last edited on 29 March 2022, at 08:14.
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^ Lammert, M. (2009-12-01). "Twelve-Month Evaluation of UPS Diesel Hybrid Electric Delivery Vans". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ "Rivian Hires Frank Klein as Chief Operations Officer". www.businesswire.com. 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-04-04.

[1] Lammert, M. (2009-12-01). "Twelve-Month Evaluation of UPS Diesel Hybrid Electric Delivery Vans". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[2] "Rivian Hires Frank Klein as Chief Operations Officer". www.businesswire.com. 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-04-04.

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