The startup EV Rivian Automotive has launched the first all-electric truck, the R1T. Meanwhile, manufacturer of electric trucks Nikola (NKLA) plans to manufacture 100 semis at its plant in Germany next year. NKLA shares fell.
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Amazon (AMZN) – i Ford (F): Rivian rhythms supported Tesla (TSLA) i General Motors (GM) to the punch as the electric vehicle market for electric trucks heats up.
RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian he tweeted with photos Tuesday that the first R1T came out of the assembly line at its Normal plant, Island, that morning.
“After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning, our first customer vehicle came out of our production line at Normal! Our team’s collective efforts have made that moment possible,” he said. “I can’t wait to put them in the hands of our customers!”
According to the media, Rivian has received regulatory approval to begin selling and delivering both its R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV to the 50 U.S. states. The vehicles are fully certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, the company confirmed to IBD by email.
Rivian overcomes supply chain problems
The R1T electric pickup starts at around $ 67,500. The seven-seater R1S is priced at about $ 70,000. The pre-release version of the two vehicles sold out in late 2020.
R1T production comes amid Rivian’s plans to go public in late November. Rivian is reportedly seeking a valuation of about $ 80 billion, surpassing GM’s market capitalization of about $ 72 billion and Ford’s market capitalization of about $ 53 billion. Still, it would still be well below Tesla’s $ 705 billion valuation. The Irvine-based company is said to be aiming for a Thanksgiving IPO.
Rivian appears to have overcome supply chain problems that had previously delayed production of the R1T. Its most recent update was addressed in September as the start of deliveries. Rivian expects to deliver 20,000 vehicles by 2021. It is expected to double that figure by 2022.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Cybertruck production will not begin until late 2022, with volume production until the end of 2023. This could reflect issues related to the mass production of 4,680 batteries, key to make the Cybertruck and the Sardinians and Roadsters, which have been so delayed, viable.
Meanwhile, GM plans to begin production of its high-end Hummer EV later this year. General Motors will follow up with a Silverado EV and a GMC electric pickup for 2023. Ford’s first electric pickup, the F-150 Lightning, will arrive in the spring of 2022.
Meanwhile, Rivian also has an agreement to manufacture 100,000 electric vans for Amazon.com. Both GM and Ford will launch electric delivery vans this year.
Nikola Poised will begin production
The American manufacturer of EV, Nikola, partners with Iveco, the commercial vehicle unit of Italian CNH Industrial NV, to start mass production of Nikola Tre heavy trucks.
Nikola unveiled its production line at Iveco’s German plant on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported. The first models of electric battery will be delivered to customers in the United States early next year, with a fuel cell version scheduled for late 2023.
Nikola hopes to recently change the negative narrative surrounding his business. Founder Trevor Milton resigned as chief executive in September after pleading not guilty to fraud charges in July.
Nikola’s shares were submerged after a short trader accused Milton of misleading investors.
EV shares
Shares of Nikola have fallen 2.3%, to 9.68, on the stock market. NKLA shares are trading near historical lows, according to MarketSmith chart analysis.
Tesla, a share of the rating, rose 0.6% to 749.01. TSLA shares are above an alternative entry at 730. The buying area extends to 766.50.
Among other vehicle manufacturers with a growing EV board, GM and Ford shares rose 1.2% each.
Follow Adelia Cellini Linecker on Twitter @IBD_Adelia.
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