Rivian raises 2026 delivery outlook after strong Q2 demand

Electric vehicle manufacturers Rivian Automotive And Lucid Group It reported second-quarter delivery results on Thursday with mixed results.

Rivian raised its 2026 delivery forecast range after seeing stronger-than-expected demand for its electric vehicles in the second quarter, while Lucid missed Wall Street expectations and new CEO Silvio Napoli announced a change to the company’s leadership team.

Rivian said it now expects to deliver between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles this year, down from a previous forecast of between 62,000 and 67,000 units.

Rivian shares rose nearly 6% in early trading Thursday.

Rivian also said Thursday that it produced 12,613 vehicles and delivered 12,194 in the second quarter. Second-quarter deliveries are higher than FactSet’s analyst consensus of 11,000 units and the company’s previous outlook, which called for delivering between 9,000 and 11,000 electric vehicles.

Rivian, which will announce its second-quarter financial results on July 30, said that the high deliveries in the second quarter were due to its electric delivery van and flagship R1 products.

The company also started delivering its mid-size R2 SUV this quarter. It is increasing production of this vehicle at its sole production facility in Normal, Illinois, which has the capacity to produce 160,000 vehicles annually.

Lucid reported that it produced 4,774 vehicles and delivered 3,953 vehicles in the second quarter. Deliveries were below Wall Street expectations of 5,000 units, according to FactSet.

Along with the deliveries, the company also announced a new leadership team under Napoli, who began overseeing the company in June. Lucid said the new format aims to “simplify the structure of the company” and halve the number of people who report directly to the CEO.

Most importantly, Lucid Chief Financial Officer Taoufiq Boussaid will leave the company after being handed over to his successor Alexander De Bock, who most recently served as CFO of automotive supplier TI Automotive.

“We are simplifying the organization, strengthening leadership, strengthening accountability and aligning our structure with the most important priorities (customers, quality and innovation),” Napoli said in a statement. he said.

EV leader Tesla’sMeanwhile, it reported deliveries of 480,126 vehicles in the second quarter, above expectations. The company doesn’t disclose exact delivery figures by region or individual model, but said there were 467,762 units of the entry-level Model 3 sedan and the most popular Model Y SUVs.

— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.