Electric start-up Rivian is worth more than Ford

Many are calling this car brand the next Tesla. Despite not selling any new cars it’s worth more than some of the world’s biggest car makers.

Rivian R1T electric ute concept.

The stock value of electric truck maker Rivian has soared since its Wall Street debut, making the company worth more than traditional automakers Ford and General Motors.

Shares in the company, which is backed by Amazon and Ford, leapt as high as 50 per cent in its first day of trading, taking Rivian’s market capitalisation to more than $US100 billion ($137b) – well above Detroit’s legacy manufacturers and most global players.

The red-hot start-up is taking advantage of investor enthusiasm for the electric vehicle sector, where star performer Tesla recently surpassed $US1 trillion market capitalisation.

Tesla far outstrips the world’s two biggest car producers, Toyota and VW, which are valued at about $280b and $160b respectively.

Rivian is already one of the most valuable car makers in the world.

Rivian announced it had raised $11.9 billion in its initial public offering, setting the share price at $US78 ($106) in the largest IPO since 2014 when China’s online giant Alibaba went public.

At the close of trading Wednesday, Rivian’s shares had gained more than 29 per cent to $US100.73 ($137).

Rivian was founded in 2009 by Robert Scaringe, a car enthusiast who, after graduating from college, wanted to focus on less-polluting forms of transportation rather than the traditional car.

First Rivian R1T electric pick-up truck rolls off the production line.

Backers view it as the next Tesla, but it has sceptics, as well. “No one is even bothering to discuss unimportant issues like revenue or cash flow, preferring instead to rely on the ‘dreams’ that are being sold by the management and its advisers,” said Richard Windsor of Radio Free Mobile.

Rivian’s first R1T electric ute rolled off the American company’s production line in the US state of Illinois only a month ago.

But it has beaten Tesla’s CyberTruck and Ford’s F-150 Lightning to the punch by a considerable margin.

Rivian has previously said it would sell its vehicles in Australia.

The company is only expected to build about 1200 examples of its R1T pick-up truck this year, but has a substantial order list of more than 50,000 vehicles.

Ford and Amazon are both major investors. The latter has a standing order for 100,000 specially built electric delivery vans, which will help the company’s green drive.

The good news for Aussie tradies is that it’s expected to be sold in Australia.

In 2019, a Rivian spokesman Chris Wollen told News Corp Australia the ute would be developed in right-hand drive for overseas markets.

“We know that there’s markets that will be into these vehicles and the adventure positioning and Australia fits that perfectly. We know we’re nicely suited for Australia so it’s an important market for us,” he said.

The Rivian is a hi-tech machine.

Rivian claims its R1T will have some pretty impressive performance. The truck will tow up to 4500kg and have a claimed range of up to 640km.

The Rivian R1T will be available in several variants and have a choice of either 135kWh or 180kWh battery packs, with respective theoretical range of 500km and 640km.

All are all-wheel drive — electric motors power each wheel, with torque vectoring to ensure optimum grip.

Power figures vary with specification: the smaller battery makes 563kW/1120Nm and the larger battery pack prioritises range over power, making 522kW/1120Nm.

The ute will have an 800kg payload and a wading depth of up to a metre.

Rivian is also developing an electric SUV called the R1S.

- with AFP