Production of Rivian’s electric vans at Amazon may be delayed after the electric vehicle (EV) startup sued its custom seat supplier over alleged price issues.
(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNI – MAY 09: A Rivian electric pickup truck stands in a parking lot at a Rivian service center on May 09, 2022 in South San Francisco, California.
Giant retailer Amazon ordered its first-ever electric vans from EV startup Rivian, but it may have to wait longer than necessary as production slumps.
Rivian van vs seat supplier
It’s worth noting that Rivian sued the seat supplier of its electric van, Commercial Vehicle Group Inc., last March, according to a Fox Business news report.
The EV maker said in the lawsuit that the latter violated their supply contract.
Rivian claimed in his lawsuit that the car supplier doubled the initial unit price of the seats to be installed on its electric van.
However, the Commercial Vehicle Group has already responded to the EV startup’s claims, denying what Rivian claimed in his lawsuit.
To be more precise, the chair supplier has stated in its court records that it had no contractual obligation when it comes to its pricing.
In addition, Commercial Vehicle Group added that it only decided to increase the unit price after the EV startup made changes to both the engineering and design of its electric van.
Rivian Amazon Delivery From Production Delay?
Meanwhile, Rivian announced that it does not have an alternative supplier for the custom seats of its electric van. So it may be a few more years before a new company is discovered to work on it.
(Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 25: Amazon vans are seen exiting Amazon’s JFK8 Staten Island fulfillment center on Staten Island in New York City on March 25, 2022.
That said, the ongoing dispute between the automaker and its seat supplier could drastically affect production of the electric van Amazon ordered for its delivery fleet.
According to a recent Teslarati story, Rivian also warned that if his car supplier stops supplying the custom seats, production of the Amazon van may have to be suspended.
The cessation of production of its electric van is expected to seriously affect its order fulfillment timeline.
It’s interesting to point out that Amazon is ordering as many as 100,000 units of the Rivian electric van, which the automaker plans to ship starting in 2025.
Also read: Rivian is reorganizing its production for faster output, but some users will have to wait longer
Rivian production delays
Aside from the ongoing dispute with its seat supplier, Rivian is also suffering from raging supply chain chaos, which could likely cut production on its other EVs as well.
The EV startup wrote in its Letter to Shareholders that it is already ramping up production of the Electric Delivery Van 700, R1S and R1T amid supply chain issues.
Related article: Rivian’s RJ Scaringe Bought $1 Million EV Company Stock, Now Owns Over 4.3 Million Shares
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Teejay Boris
ⓒ 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
