Ford Continues Selling Rivian Stake

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Ford Motor Co. has decided to continue offloading Rivian stock, with the burgeoning electric vehicle manufacturer at roughly $24 per share. After divesting itself of 8 million shares earlier this month, Blue Oval sold another 7 million ahead of the weekend — leaving itself holding about 9.7 percent of the company.

With 86.9 million shares leftover from the sale, Ford remains a relevant stakeholder. However, investors are growing worried that the legacy manufacturer will continue dumping Rivian as a way of salvaging future losses. Ford, which previously owned some 102 million shares in Rivian, endured a massive $3.1-billion loss in its first quarter as the value of its investment in the company slumped. Worse still, investors are souring on tech and EV stocks in general.

Analysts are torn as to why. Popular suppositions include the general state of the market and the rising costs of commodities that battery production is overwhelmingly reliant on and claims that the influx of shady EV startups has gradually soured investors on their future prospects.

Rivian’s specific problems are no less complicated. Unlike some of its less-than-reputable counterparts, the brand has made real headway in terms of production and received meaningful financial support from the likes of Ford and Amazon. It also recently announced plans to establish a new facility in Georgia to assemble all-electric SUVs. But it endured a $1.59 billion in the first quarter of 2021 and has cut back its previous assertion that it could produce 40,000 vehicles annually to just 25,000.

This puts investors in a bit of a pickle. Rivian still seems to have some solid momentum behind it and may yet rebound after its lofty IPO settles down. However, that assumes that investors still think it’s a good buy at its present valuation and that Ford and Amazon will not continue offloading shares.

[Image: Rivian]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Art Vandelay Art Vandelay on May 17, 2022

    Trump is bad. Nobody said it for a while I piped up

  • BEPLA BEPLA on May 17, 2022

    Ford buys Rivian to collaborate on new trucks/SUVs. Values go up. Ford then says they won't collaborate w/ Rivian on new trucks/SUVs. Values go down. Meanwhile, Ford develops it's own electric truck and brings it to market in record time. Ford then sells Rivian stock as a result of stock going down and lack of collaboration. Values go down some more. Ford doesn't suffer because all those investment losses are tax deductible against record profits. If Ford continues selling, Rivian values could continue to plummet, submarining Rivian. Who wants to bet Ford never really intended to collaborate with Rivian on anything - that this is exactly what was planned?

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    • BEPLA BEPLA on May 17, 2022

      @SoCalMikester Tesla did the same - as has Lucid and Ford (Bronco anyone?) and others who introduce a vehicle, accept deposits, then sit on the money until they eventually get around to delivering cars. Nothing new here.

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