Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) might have a more subdued 2025 with the company having zero vehicle launches, but the young electric vehicle (EV) maker has had plenty of news for investors to digest recently. The company received a massive endorsement from someone in the EV world, received positive news from the Biden administration, and one of its vehicles ranked in the top 10 for U.S. EV sales.
Let's dig into the details of all three developments.
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Rush delivery
One of Rivian's biggest victories in 2024 was receiving a conditional commitment from the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program for up to $6.6 billion. But the victory came with a caveat; the funds couldn't be distributed before specific financial documents and other conditions were completed to close the deal.
The problem with the commitment not being closed quickly is that the incoming administration has made it clear its intentions to pull back support for the EV industry, and could complicate or cancel the DOE commitment to Rivian. The good news is that the Biden administration pushed through the finalizing of the commitment, and as of Thursday, Jan. 16, it was announced that the loan agreement had officially closed -- and so the funds can now be distributed without further complications.
The funds will go directly to building the company's second factory in Georgia, which had previously been delayed amid the R2's planned production move to Rivian's original factory in Illinois. This will help pave the way for additional R2 production capacity, as well as the R3, and R3X, which is expected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027.
Unique endorsement
Meanwhile, Rivian received a fine compliment from EV visionary and enthusiast Mate Rimac. Rimac is the man behind the Croatian electric hypercar brand and CEO of Rimac Group, which also includes Bugatti Automobiles.
"Had the honor to have RJ show me the car (inside and out) at Pebble Beach," wrote Mate as a response to a post on Facebook, according to InsideEVs. "Love it, but especially the R3X. Would buy it in a heartbeat if it was available in Europe."
Not only was the endorsement a positive development, but it actually marks a pretty large flip flop by Rimac. Rimac visited Rivian's Illinois headquarters six or seven years ago and was skeptical about the brand and vehicle design. He's since switched his position and admits the design has grown on him.
It's a great sign for Rivian that it's connecting not only with consumers, but also with EV and automotive enthusiasts. That's exactly the goal of the performance-oriented R3X, which will actually begin production before the base R3 model.
In the rankings
With competition intensifying and the number of new EV models on the roads increasing, it's a bigger deal than ever to rank in the U.S. top 10 EV sales -- and Rivian accomplished just that in 2024. Rivian's R1S ranked as the 10th best-selling EV in the U.S. with a 23% gain over the prior year.
It was a solid showing considering four new vehicles joined the ranking and five of last year's top 10 dropped out of the list. While Rivian's top 10 position is positive for the company, it's also fair to note that even with Tesla's sales down 5.6% compared to the prior year, the EV maker still dominates, with the Model Y and Model 3 making up 28.6% and 14.6% of U.S. EV sales in 2024, respectively.
What it all means
Rivian will remain somewhat in limbo throughout 2025 as investors await the production of the R2 in 2026, but that doesn't mean there aren't developments worth following. Rivian closing the DOE loan before the incoming administration takes over is huge, and a ringing endorsement from an EV visionary who was originally a skeptic bodes well for the brand image. Ranking top 10 in U.S. EV sales is a cherry on top.
It's all just a little good news for Rivian investors as 2025 gets underway.
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Daniel Miller has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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