Rivian Automotive (RIVN) – Get Rivian Automotive, Inc. Class A Report shares briefly dipped below their November initial public offering price Thursday.
That came after Amazon (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report announced Wednesday that it will buy electric delivery vans from Stellantis (STLA) – Get Stellantis N.V. Report, bypassing Rivian, its original electric-vehicle purchase partner.
Amazon has ordered 100,000 Rivian vans to be delivered by 2030, and it owns a 20% stake in the company.
The agreement with Stellantis doesn’t represent a slight toward Rivian, Amazon said.
“We always knew that our ambitious sustainability goals in our last mile operations would require multiple electric delivery van providers,” the online retail king said in a statement.
“We continue to be excited about our relationship with Rivian, and this doesn’t change anything about our investment, collaboration, or order size and timing.”
Amazon didn’t say how many vehicles it’s buying from Stellantis, but did say the companies plan to put thousands of Stellantis Ram ProMasters on the road each year after the vehicle’s 2023 launch.
Rivian stock recently traded at $87.13, down 3%. Earlier Thursday, it hit a low of $75.13, compared to its IPO price of $78.
The IPO was the sixth biggest in U.S. history. the share price peaked at $179.47 Nov. 16, which meant a market capitalization of more than $100 billion for Rivian. That put it ahead of General Motors (GM) – Get General Motors Company Report and Ford Motor (F) – Get Ford Motor Company Report, which also is an investor in Rivian.
Its market-cap stood at $78 billion Thursday, compared to $98 billion for Ford and $92 billion for GM.
Last month, automotive magazine MotorTrend crowned Rivian’s R1T as its 2022 Truck of the Year. The publication called the first mass-produced electric truck to hit the U.S. market “the most remarkable truck MotorTrend has ever driven.”
In its first earnings report last month, Rivian reported a worse-than-expected $1.2 billion loss in the third quarter. It said supply chain shortages, labor shortages and a snarled production process boosted expenses.
Corrects to remove wording that Amazon “dissed” Rivian. Adds Amazon statement.
