Rivian stock rises as electric vehicle maker signs AT&T fleet deal

Rivian (RIVN) shares took off Thursday after the electric truck maker announced a new commercial customer for its trucks. Its shares rose by about 14% an hour before the market closed.

Rivian and AT&T (T) It revealed a deal for the telecom giant to buy Rivian trucks and R1 vehicles for its commercial fleet. AT&T said the vehicles will be purchased through a pilot program aimed at reducing transportation vehicle emissions. Rivian declined to provide the number of vehicles AT&T will purchase, nor did it specify the financial impact of the deal.

“We are excited to purchase Rivian EVs for our fleet. This pilot program is another important step in our ongoing efforts toward sustainability, reducing our carbon footprint and embracing a cleaner future for our operations,” Hardmon Williams, AT&T’s senior vice president of Connected Solutions, said in a statement.

“About a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted in the US transportation sector comes from commercial trucks, so it is imperative that we do everything we can as soon as possible to help reduce emissions,” said Dagan Mechoulam, vice president of strategy and fleet at Rivian. statement. “We very much look forward to expanding our relationship with AT&T to help them achieve their climate goals.”

Just last month during its third-quarter earnings report, Rivian said it would no longer be subject to selling its electric delivery van exclusively to Amazon, a shareholder of Rivian. Rivian still plans to build 100,000 delivery trucks for Amazon, per a previous agreement, and has already done so. Delivery of 10,000 trucks To the online shopping giant.

In addition to the fleet purchase, Rivan and AT&T announced that AT&T will be Rivian’s exclusive Internet connectivity provider for all Rivian commercial vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Rivian says it will use AT&T’s wireless network to provide over-the-air updates to its vehicles in the field.

Rivian shares have been on the rise lately, rising more than 34% in the past three months, and nearly 20% for the year. Rivian boosted its full-year production forecast to 54,000 units from 52,000 units last month. Its previous forecast of 52,000 units was raised earlier in the year from 50,000.

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“Given the progress made on our production lines, our internal engine line ramp, and supply chain expectations, we are increasing our 2023 production guidance to 54,000 total units,” the company said in its third-quarter shareholder letter.

In addition to boosting production, the company announced a long-awaited announcement The leasing program was available for select R1T pickups. Introducing the leasing program means the company can now pass along the $7,500 EV business tax credit to renters regardless of income limits required by the EV tax credit for purchases. Lease packages will start at $899 per month for 36 months, with $6,794 due at signing, Revan said.

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

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