What happened
Electric vehicle (EV) start-up Rivian Automotive (RIVN -2.21%) provided its quarterly financial and operational update last week, and investors weren't impressed. Today, the company announced that a new executive will try to help solve the production and supply chain problems that caused the negative reaction. But the shares continued to decline today anyway. As of 11:51 a.m. ET on Monday, shares were down another 6.4%.
So what
Last week, Rivian said it had produced 2,425 EVs as of March 8. But more importantly, the company projected it would make only 25,000 vehicles in 2022 even though it has the capacity to manufacture 50,000. That shortfall is because of supply chain issues causing a lack of sufficient parts and materials. Today, Rivian announced it hired a new chief operating officer (COO) to help address that situation.
A Rivian R1S on the assembly line. Image source: Rivian Automotive.
Now what
Rivian said today that it has hired Frank Klein to become its new COO, effective June 1, 2022. The previous COO retired last year as the company was transitioning from an early start-up into its initial commercial-production phase. Klein comes from automotive contract manufacturer Magna Steyr, a subsidiary of Canadian-based Magna International.
Rivian said in a statement, "During his time at Magna Steyr, Frank oversaw the company's shift to the electric mobility manufacturing space, including the production of the first electric vehicle made by a contract manufacturer."
Investors hope this experience will spur an improvement in early logistic and supply chain problems that the company has been experiencing. Rivian stock is down 40% in the last month, and today's announcement hasn't stemmed that slide. It remains to be seen if the new COO will bring better news to investors as the year progresses.
