What would happen if Rivian went out of business?

[VHRivian]

As the driver of a car from the recently defunct Holden brand (Australian), I'll be the contrarian here. While somebody might buy the physical and intellectual property, there's nothing saying they have to do anything to benefit existing owners. No software updates, no parts availability, no service centers, etc. I also wouldn't expect the aftermarket to step in either if production numbers aren't high enough to warrant the initial cost investment. With more and more production moving in-house at Rivian, you won't even have third-party parts manufacturers being able to offer those parts directly. Obviously, I don't think this will happen, as I'm planning on buying an R1S, but I'm all too aware of what can go wrong. Should an accident befall my 6-year old car, I'd be needing to scrounge junk yards for parts for a limited production vehicle, and that is NOT IDEAL to say the least.

I am the previous owner of a Holden Commodore VFII. It's the best car I have ever owned. Shortly after the factory shut down I had a rock bounce off the highway and shatter the sunroof in on me. Scary, but even scarier the time and expense to track down the new sunroof mechanism (weird, but you can't just replace the glass). I started to think about how much harder it was going to be as time went on. One minor accident and the parts would be so expensive to ship from Australia that it would be totaled for sure. I sold that thing right away after that for exactly what I paid for it 3 years earlier and it would be worth $10k more now.

Even with all of that I am still willing to take that chance on Rivian. I think the financials are relatively solid with Amazon behind them. The product is excellent so as long as they keep pushing and get to volume production they will make it. Now they just need to let me buy one!

Sponsored

 

[Engi_Nerd]

IMO, there is no apt historical precedent for a software-defined vehicle manufacturer going out of business. You'd have all the part sourcing struggles of Holden/Fisker/Delorean combined with all of the anti-repair encryption hurdles of Apple and John Deere.

 

[C.R. Rivian]

Some big guys have confidence:
https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/08/m...ner-to-jointly-build-electric-vans-in-europe/

 

[crashmtb]

There is a legal requirement to provide X years of parts

 

[Speedrye]

There is a legal requirement to provide X years of parts

Can you find that? I've looked before and there's nothing that I could find. The Magnuson-Moss Act was the closest to providing anything useful, but I can't find a thing requiring parts beyond that.

 

[milliemc]

Snowballs chance in an oven...but what happens with service and warranty if Rivian ever went under? Let alone resale value... Thoughts?

Aren't they building vans for Amazon? I think Amazon would probably buy them...but I don't see that happening..

 

[jakef801]

It would be nice to see some updates on the gargantuan 2000 acre plant in Georgia. There are probably some stories in the local news - I just haven't had time to look into it.

Update (the stock market liked this news - RIVN up 10% right now):

https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-au...ing-to-start-soon/FTCXXQSBNVBSVIQLG3MXE4PD6I/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...nering-to-make-electric-vans/?sh=2ff825d66646

 

[crashmtb]

Can you find that? I've looked before and there's nothing that I could find. The Magnuson-Moss Act was the closest to providing anything useful, but I can't find a thing requiring parts beyond that.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/20...e-to-provide-replacement-parts-for-older-cars
looks like an old wive's tale! oops.

Magnuson-Moss only stipulates parts availability for the warranty term, and that's for everything, not just cars.

Funtime semi-related fact,
When I worked in ag, we had to keep parts for 10 years from in service date, and had to have parts available in three working days, all thanks to the farm implements act here. I assume the US has similar rules there.

 

[Gator42]

IMO, there is no apt historical precedent for a software-defined vehicle manufacturer going out of business. You'd have all the part sourcing struggles of Holden/Fisker/Delorean combined with all of the anti-repair encryption hurdles of Apple and John Deere.

You're so right..though we've already had members on this forum discussing rewriting the software on their own. Would a Rivian OpenWrt style project happen organically?

 

[NY_Rob]

There is a legal requirement to provide X years of parts

Just curious....

If they "go out of business" as the OP mentioned... actually closed the plant sold off the machinery, etc... how would you force them to provide replacement parts for "X" years?

 

[Ripped]

It's a possibility for any company to go out of business, theoretically... however, I don't see that long-term, especially with the Amazon commitments.

Aside from kind of being the checker-cabs of trucks aesthetically, they have a solid platform design, and a unique product offering.
Although missing on some marks, their software is not bad.

I don't see Rivian going out of business. In theory, if that were even close to being the case another legacy automaker would swallow them up well before that.

Actually, they've done quite well for a ground zero startup.

They will have to address the design quirks soon. Once Jeep and others bring competitive products online, they will have an advantage in loyalty, design and customer base.

 

[Sully151]

My biggest concern for Rivian is the current economy and what will happen with spending on luxury items.

They really need to get some info on the R2 platform out to the public.

 

[crashmtb]

My biggest concern for Rivian is the current economy and what will happen with spending on luxury items.

They really need to get some info on the R2 platform out to the public.

my biggest concern for rivian is delivery of my R1T.

 

[manitou202]

They have already delivered more vehicles than DeLorean and Fisker combined. They also have a huge brand name at the moment. If they were to go bankrupt it would be in several years after they burned through their $18B in cash and aren't able to borrow or sell more shares for some reason. At that point they would have easily 50k+ vehicles on the road.

I think two things could happen.

First Scenario: They go bankrupt because of cash flow but their product still has high demand and a strong brand image. In this scenario someone would certainly buy them up and continue making vehicles.

Second Scenario: Their vehicles have serious issues over the next 12-18 months and their reputation collapses. They burn through cash, orders drop, and they go bankrupt. In this situation Rivian could all but disappear. Little to no support going forward.

Edit: Lucid is much more likely to go the route of DeLorean or Fisker which is unfortunate because I believe they have some of the best powertrain and battery technology in the world. However they made a big mistake starting with a luxury sedan instead of an SUV. I think there is very limited demand for $100k+ sedans, and if the economy takes a dump, they could really struggle. Their biggest hope is the Saudi PIF bails them out.

 

[Khaneric]

It was purchased and serviced through Chevrolet dealerships as Holden was a GM subsidiary. Mechanically, there aren't many issues as most of the drivetrain is shared with Corvettes and higher-end Camaro trims, but interior bits, or body parts get tricky in a hurry. GM didn't find us worth the effort to keep parts supplied even though all of the tooling for it is somewhere, in someone's warehouse probably.

As someone who owned a G8 (Holden Commodore) body panels where BY FAR the biggest issue. The were super cheap when the car came out where people were guying GXP bumpers for less then $100. Once GM went "bankrupt" and got rid of Pontiac and eventually Holden the prices went through the roof and didn't make the car worthwhile for me anymore, the high resale value of them helped too.

Sponsored