Rivian announces big recall; Tesla hits sales record in China: EV roundup

·Senior Reporter

October 10, 2022 at 10:57 AM·3 min read

EV (electric vehicle) stocks are on the move today as third quarter earnings season approaches. Here are two big stories that have investors' attention.

Rivian announces a big recall

Rivian (RIVN) shares are sliding today after the electric adventure truckmaker announced it would recall all of the vehicles it has produced thus far due to a safety issue.

The recall affects around 13,000 vehicles Rivian has delivered to customers. The safety concern at issue is a nut that attaches the front suspension arms to the steering knuckle assembly may not have been torqued tightly enough, which could lead it to fail.

Rivian says it’s recalling nearly all vehicles delivered to customers “out of an abundance of caution,” even though the issue was discovered only in seven trucks. Rivian said it is not aware of any injuries stemming from the issue.

“The safety of our customers will always be our top priority, and we are committed to fixing this issue on any affected vehicles as quickly as possible,” Rivian said in a statement to Yahoo Finance. “We will make any necessary adjustments free of charge at one of our service centers.”

CEO RJ Scaringe said in an email to customers that most of them would be able to get their trucks fixed within minutes by tightening the nut, but some might require some parts to be replaced.

Social media and online Rivian forums have shown some pictures in recent weeks of Rivian vehicles with failed suspension components, leading to partially detached wheel assemblies.

I’m no truckologist, but something seems amiss here…@Rivian @TeslaClubSoCal @Tesla pic.twitter.com/f3RkcqfRHW
— F the Pump (@FthePump1) August 15, 2022

While this may not be the exact issue of concern for the Rivian recall, it has lead to some customers, and Wall Street analysts, to be concerned.

In note to clients this morning, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote the recall was a “black eye” for Rivian and that “the last thing any Rivian investor wants to see in a shaky market is a broad recall that hurts the brand and gives some lingering credibility issues to production going forward.”

Rivian shares are down a steep 70% year to date.

Tesla logs record sales in China

According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla (TSLA) delivered 83,135 China-made vehicles in September, which represents an 8% jump from the prior month and also tops its record high of vehicles delivered in June.

The new sales record comes as Tesla completed investments in infrastructure and improved systems in place to boost production at its Shanghai Gigafactory.

Tesla does not break out monthly sales or sales across its factories located in the U.S., Germany, and China. According to Reuters, Tesla did say in a statement that “the record high sales of China-made Tesla cars showed electric vehicles have been leading the mobility trend.”

For the third quarter, Tesla reported total deliveries of 343,830 on production of 365,923 vehicles, which is a record for the company. As of the end of the second quarter, Tesla reported Giga Shanghai had an annual installed capacity of over 750,000 vehicles, making it the company’s most productive factory to date.

—

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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Rivian announces a big recall

Tesla logs record sales in China

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