Rivian’s shares fall more than 3% as the electric car maker and Amazon consider changes to deal
Published: 13 March 2023 at 11:46 a.m. ET
Rivian Automotive Inc.’s stock fell more than 3% on Monday after news that the electric car maker and Amazon.com Inc. are discussing possible changes to their electric van deal.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the companies are in talks to end the exclusivity portion of their electric van deal. The talks began after Amazon’s orders for the year were at the low end of its previous range, the report said.
ONE…
Rivian Automotive Inc.̵[ads1]7;s stock fell more than 3% on Monday after news that the electric car maker and Amazon.com Inc. are discussing possible changes to their electric van deal.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the companies are in talks to end the exclusivity portion of their electric van deal. The talks began after Amazon’s orders for the year were at the low end of its previous range, the report said.
A Rivian
TORN
spokesperson said the two companies are in discussions. “We continue to work closely together and navigate a changing economic climate, as do many companies,” she said. “The relationship we have with Amazon is very positive.”
Rivian and Amazon
AMZN
struck a deal in 2019 to sell all of the electric car maker’s trucks to Amazon, which has been building its own last-mile delivery systems in an effort to rely less on logistics companies such as FedEx Corp.
FDX
and United Parcel Service Inc.
UPS
.
Amazon invested $700 million in Rivian as one of the electric car manufacturer’s big early supporters. It is Rivian’s largest shareholder, according to FactSet, with a 17% stake currently worth more than $2 billion.
Rivian has been under pressure to ramp up production and cut costs, and last month the company disappointed Wall Street by missing fourth-quarter revenue expectations and revealing problems with parts shortages and other production hiccups.
Rivian shares have lost 63% over the past 12 months, compared with a loss of about 7% for the S&P 500
SPX
.
