Rivian was never going to be Amazon's only electric van maker
BNN Bloomberg
This first week of 2022 brought a fresh reminder of just how irrational the land of EV stocks is, and how little attention investors are paying to details.
This first week of 2022 brought a fresh reminder of just how irrational the land of EV stocks is, and how little attention investors are paying to details.
The market drama started on Wednesday, when Amazon announced it was buying electric vans from Stellantis, formed last year from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group. The news sank shares of Rivian Automotive, the buzzy EV startup Amazon has funded to build thousands of electric delivery vans. Rivian raised US$11.9 billion in last year’s biggest IPO.
The pixie dust from Seattle gave Stellantis its much sought-after stock bump: shares were up 11 per cent, headed for the biggest weekly gain in more than six months. The Amazon deal is good news for Stellantis, which is trying to tap into market mania for EVs by touting its electrification plans.
This is not bad news for Rivian. As several analysts have pointed out, Rivian was never going to be able to produce enough to satisfy Amazon’s voracious e-commerce delivery needs, and it wasn’t expected to. Amazon “always knew” it would “would require multiple electric delivery van providers” to meet its climate goals, the company said in an email after Rivian shares started dropping.
The retail giant started knocking on doors in Detroit years ago to get the electric vans it will need to achieve Jeff Bezos’ 2040 climate goal. It turned to Rivian in part because Detroit automakers couldn’t deliver zero-emissions trucks fast enough. Even so, Amazon is already a steady customer of Stellantis’ Ram ProMaster and Mercedes Sprinter vans.
The real tension investors should be focused on is whether Rivian can deliver the vans it’s promised. It’s on the hook to deliver 10,000 of them to Amazon by the end of this year, and 100,000 by the end of the decade. That is a huge lift for an upstart electric vehicle company that only just began to roll vehicles off the line late last year. (Remember Elon Musk’s “production hell?”) There’s something to be said for Stellantis’ century of manufacturing experience.
Facing a $1.4 billion deficit shortfall, the provincial government says its large-animal vet service will be privatized over the next three years.
Facing a $1.4 billion deficit shortfall, the provincial government says its large-animal vet service will be privatized over the next three years.
Jurors wade through daunting evidence in high-stakes Meta trial about social media risks to children
A stream of testimony and evidence has been presented in a New Mexico case exploring what Meta knew about the effects of its platforms on children.
Markets in Canada and the U.S. continued to trade lower while oil went up late morning on Friday as inflationary fears prevailed among investors.
Gold prices fell by 1.8 per cent on Friday as the dollar strengthened on a report that the United States will deploy extra troops in the Middle East, fanning concerns of higher oil prices, inflation, and with it, elevated interest rates.
Canada’s federally backed farm lender is offering financial aid to farmers, agricultural businesses and food companies hit by the spike in fertilizer and energy prices, it said on Friday.
Statistics Canada says retail sales were up 1.1 per cent at $70.7 billion in January, led by sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
As Qatar reels from an Iranian attack that has hobbled its giant natural gas company, its boss, who doubles as the country’s energy minister, says he had warned officials and executives of just such a danger should Iran’s own sites be hit.
Top Picks from Greg Newman, Senior Wealth Advisor & Portfolio Manager, Newman Group, ScotiaMcLeod
Dan Tobon outlines key market wildcards, including geopolitical risks, AI disruption and shifting investor sentiment.
U.S. stocks are sinking Friday as hopes wither on Wall Street for a possible cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve this year because of the war with Iran.
Pinterest CEO Bill Ready called on world leaders to ban social media for youth under 16 in a LinkedIn post on Friday.
Wall Street is stumbling toward the finish line of a fourth straight losing week on Friday, but an ease in oil prices is taking some of the pressure off stock markets worldwide.