Rivian’s EV filings look stronger than some other startups

Lucid and VinFast’s numbers are still relatively low, while Fisker is just starting its electric vehicle sales adventure.

Rivian appears to be the strongest EV startup in the US right now, significantly outperforming other new brands.

According to registration data from Experian (via Car News), Rivian’s new EV registrations in July were 2,783, higher than the monthly average of 2,596 in the first half of the year. The company is ramping up production of the R1T pickup and R1S SUV, and the numbers are expected to improve further.

During the first seven months, a total of 18,359 Rivian R1T and R1S vehicles were registered (EDV electric trucks are excluded from these statistics), the eighth-highest result overall, amounting to about 2.8 percent of the all-electric segment.

Interestingly, the R1S is significantly higher than the R1T with 10,748 and 7,611 units respectively. The other interesting thing is that the Ford F-150 Lightning, with 11,883 units sold, will likely remain the best-selling all-electric pickup for the foreseeable future. The upcoming increase of the production rate to 150,000 units per year is a very important step. Ford recently cut prices on its electric F-150 as well, while Rivian is launching new long-range dual-motor versions of its pickup truck.

In the case of other new brands on the market, the volume is much lower. Lucid, which launched its first product around the same time as Rivian (late 2021), noted 348 new registrations for Lucid Air in July and 3,789 during the first seven months of the year.

Lucid was recently forced to reduce prices, but the situation is difficult due to competition with Tesla (Model S), according to the article. The competition may not be entirely direct, but Tesla’s recent price cuts are certainly adding to the pressure.

The VinFast brand is a mystery to us. The Vietnamese company has been expanding into the automobile industry for several years, with internal combustion engine cars in 2019 and later fully electric cars. The all-electric VinFast VF 8 model recorded just 19 registrations in July and 170 during the first seven months. This is less than 10 percent of the number of cars (about 2,000) imported from Vietnam, according to the article. Moreover, the monthly number of registrations is not increasing, but decreasing – 66 in April, 45 in May, 23 in June and 19 in July.

Fisker entered the market very recently, so it’s too early to say anything about its progress. In July, 30 ocean model units were recorded (37 as of July). The all-electric crossover is imported from Austria, and according to the company, more than 450 units have already been delivered in the United States.

Watching the development of electric car startups is always interesting, because starting a car company has always been very difficult. So far, it seems that only Tesla has made it into the US. Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars, noted: “The second half of 2023 will be the real timeframe to watch, as everything from economic concerns to increased launches of electric vehicle models will put more pressure on startups. The same basic story applies to Lucid, VinFast, and Fisker. These companies are laggards.” A lot about Rivian in terms of creating a buyer base.”