: Case Study

 Laxman Nadig  Manoj N

 Himanshu Shekhar  Sapeksh Tomar
About Rivian
 Rivian Automotive, LLC is an American
automaker and automotive technology
company/startup. The company develops
vehicles, products and services related to
sustainable transportation.
 Largely unknown outside of automotive circles. Is a
privately-held maker of premium electric sport utility
vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks

 Is one of the most high-profile early-stage startups in

the US. The company has yet to sell a single electric
vehicle
 Up and Coming competitor to Tesla, has been
called as “Tesla’s worst nightmare” by Forbes
Mission and Vision
 Mission Statement: “Rivian designs and sells
high-performance, highly efficient electric
cars, with no compromises. Rivian cars
combine style, acceleration, and handling
with advanced technologies that make
them among the most versatile and the
most energy-efficient cars on the road ”.

 Vision Statement: To “keep the world adventurous

forever, to make the transition to sustainable
transportation an exciting one and to strive to
design emissions-free Electric Adventure Vehicles to
challenge what’s possible.”
 History
April 2009: The company
is founded in Florida by
R. J. Scaringe in 2009 as
Avera Motors — initially to build hybrid cars
capable of driving 60 miles per gallon.
March 2011: Renamed as ‘Rivian Motors’

January 2013 : Moves most of it’s operations

from Florida’s Space Coast to metro Detroit.
Most of its team were Michigan natives at the
time.
 February 2015: Receives a large investment and grows
significantly, opens research facilities in Michigan and
the Bay Area, Relocates headquarters to Livonia,
Michigan to be closer to key suppliers

 March 2015: Begins working exclusively on electric

autonomous vehicles, specifically building an "entire
ecosystem" of related products.

 January 2017: Acquires manufacturing plant formerly

owned by Mitsubishi Motors in Normal, Illinois and its
manufacturing contents for $16 million, with the plant to
become Rivian's primary North American
manufacturing facility.
 November 2018: two vehicles (R1S & R1T)
unveiled at the LA Auto Show (full
production is scheduled to begin in 2020)
 May 2018 :Rivian received $200 million in
debt financing from Standard Chartered
Bank, bringing total raised funds upwards of
$450 million
 February 2019: Amazon announces it would
be leading an investment round of $700
million into Rivian
 April 2019: Ford Motor Company invests $500
million
 June 2019: Company employee number
reaches 1,000 people for the first time
 Robert “RJ” Scaringe
 Robert
Joseph Scaringe (born January 19,
1983) is an American automotive
engineer and entrepreneur. He is
the founder and CEO of Rivian

 Scaringe graduated with Ph.D. from

MIT in 2009

 Scaringe studied mechanical

engineering for his master’s and
PhD in the Sloan Automotive
Laboratory, where he was a
member of the automotive research
team

 Immediately after earning his PhD in

2009, in a year of economic
recession when General Motors and
Chrysler would declare for
bankruptcy, Scaringe founded
Rivian
Key People
Rivian’s Products
 Rivian R1S (FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC ADVENTURE
 Rivian R1T VEHICLES)
 The “Skateboard”
 Supercharger Stations
Rivian R1T
Pick Up Truck
 5-seater Pick up Truck
 Quad Motor All-Wheel Drive
 105/135/180 kWh battery
 400+ mile(643+ kilometer) Range
 0-60 in 3s, 201 km/hour top speed
 135.8in Wheelbase
 Up to 750 Hp Total Power, 800kg payload
 829 ft-lb of Combined Motor Torque
 5.5 tonnes Towing Capacity
 Max Ground Clearance: 14.1 inch
Rivian R1S
SUV

 5/7-seater Fully Off-Road Capable,

4 motor Electric All-Wheel Drive SUV
 105/135/180 kWh battery
 biggest pack offers 410-plus miles of range
 Quickest R1S hits 60 MPH in just 3.2 seconds
 121 inch Wheelbase
 Towing Capacity 3.85 tonnes
 The “Skateboard”
 Rivian’s battery configuration has been
referred to as “skateboard architecture”
because the battery pack stretches
across the floor of the vehicle.

 It is capable of housing the batteries, suspension, individual

motors for each wheel, cooling system, braking mechanism,
and more.
 The packs come in different sizes, the largest of which gives the
vehicles over 400 miles in range. Rivian assembles its own battery
packs, using proprietary cooling systems to achieve energy efficiency
that is better than anything on the EV market today.

 Rivian seeks to sell it to big

manufacturers
 Is projected to be quite
profitable for Rivian
Supercharger Stations
Facilities
The company currently has
four primary locations
 Headquarters in Plymouth, MI
. A facility in San Jose, California develops self-driving
technology
 A facility in Irvine, California for batteries, electrical
hardware, and vehicle control software
 A 2.6-million-square-foot factory in Normal,
Illinois manufactures vehicle parts. It has an assembly
line paint shop, robotics, stamping machines, and other
production equipment, such as injection molding
 The company has additional office locations in Carson,
California and the United Kingdom designated for electric
power conversions.
Rivian (Former Mitsubishi) plant in Normal, IL
Investment by
Amazon

 Amazon placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery

vehicles from Rivian Automotive in a push to make the
company’s fleet run entirely on renewable energy
 It’s the largest order of EV vehicles to date.
 Prototypes of the new delivery vehicle are expected to
take to the road next year
 Rivian will likely open showrooms in several key markets,
but to keep costs down it could heavily rely on selling
direct via an online store and Amazon’s expertise and
technology
Ford Deal
In April 2019, Ford Motor Company invested $500
million, saying the two companies will work
together to develop a new battery plug-in vehicle
for Ford.
Ford has announced plans to spend $11 billion
transforming the company in coming years
Rivian will be granted access to Ford’s industrial
expertise and resources in exchange for its so-
called “skateboard platform”. Ford will likely build
its future line of electric vehicles on top of Rivian’s
skateboard technology.
Opportunities & Scope
Rising Gas Prices
Consumer Behavior
Trade Wars
Electric Vehicle Popularity/prospects
(40x increase from 2012-2015, EV
market could be worth as much as $731B
by 2027)
Big Industry Collaborations
$15,000 tax rebate for EV cars in the U.S.
Intellectual property, powerful brand
image, and industry-leading products will
make it a very attractive player
New Strategy
Formulation
Strategy Positives Negatives Response

New -Growth potential -Limited -Imitation

partnerships -Valuable expertise Resources
-Furthers EV -Competitor
for supplying adoption
drivetrain conflicts
-Early-mover
-Lower Margins
components -Distribution
network
-Low risk
Enter -New customers -Lacking resources -Pricing
mainstream -Furthers EV -Distribution -Alliance relations
automotive adoption network -Litigation
market -Limits -Moderate risk
partnerships
Enter -Growing industry -Lacking -Pricing
renewable -Valuable IP experience -Contracts
energy -Green Energy -Higher risk
market -New Market
Strengths
Ability to take risks
Utilize Cutting Edge Technology
Led by a group of experienced, talented
US auto industry leaders
Competitor Differentiation
Ability to generate self-reinforcing
enthusiasm for the brand
Advanced battery pack technology
Distribution network
Strengths
Rivian’s 6 disclosed investors also double
as its strategic partners,
Rivian’s investors are globally diverse
that deals all over the automotive supply
chain
Marketing: Videos of Rivian’s “adventure-
ready” electric vehicles continue to make
the rounds on social media.
Weaknesses
Limited capital
Not a single production vehicle to date.
Has banked mostly on prototypes
Limited manufacturing and vertical
integration
Range concerns
Limited Distribution network
Limited External Services
R&D Cost seems to overwhelm total
revenue
Remains untested in the United States
Threats
 Shortcomings of Battery Tech
 Limited prospects for Supercharging stations currently
 Governmental policies – The Trump administration is
threatening to freeze national fuel-efficiency and CO2
standards which would undermine automakers investment
in EV vehicles as well as to limit tax rebates for EV
companies
 US-China trade war – China Almost sold half a million
EV’s in the first half of 2018 (which accounts for half of all
EV’s sold worldwide)
Competitors
 Tesla pickup truck “Cyber
Truck” will be launched on
21st November
 Bollinger Motors debuted its B1 sports utility and
B2 pickup vehicles in Ferndale, Michigan
 Mercedes-Benz G-class confirmed by Daimler CEO
 Fisker unveils the photo of it’s first electric SUV
 Bayton debuts with M-byte at Frankfurt 2019 motor
show.
 General motors will be launching an electric pickup
 Electric ford F-150F under development stages.
Innovation at Rivian
 Strategically, Rivian has chosen to focus on range anxiety,
or the fear that an electric vehicle will run out of power
before the driver can reach a charging station. This is a
key factor in car buyers’ decision on whether to purchase
an EV, since
 Tesla cars have a range of roughly 300 miles per charge,
with some variation between models. Rivian’s entry-level
cars hope to offer more range than a top-spec Tesla, which
has helped the company gain attention.
 The company plans to deliver a massive 180 kWh battery
model, which it claims could yield more than 400 miles of
range.
Innovation at Rivian
 Using smartphones and other devices such as fitness trackers,
glucose monitors, blood oxygen monitors which would be paired to
feed biometric data to the car’s on-board computer system
 If the driver’s awareness levels does not meet a certain
threshold, the car could take appropriate actions on its own, such
as pulling over to the side of the road.
 Battery Extension
attachment
 Users purchasing trucks or
SUVs have traditionally
had to make many
compromises in return for
more space and towing
capacity. Rivian uses an
innovative design and
powertrain to change that.