Rivian’s R1T pickup truck will be added to MEVCO’s fleet, converted to meet mining specifications and withstand the harsh conditions of underground mines.

“Our fleet offering is better known for our commercial vans, so it’s great to see our R1 vehicles being incorporated into MEVCO’s fleet,” Dagan Mishoulam, Rivian VP of Strategy, said in a statement.

The post Rivian Partners with MEVCO for Electric Mining Fleet appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.

Karma’s March reveal of its upcoming Gyesera sedan is the Irvine-based automaker’s latest step in that direction, and its unveiling provides a blueprint for future releases that introduce new “products and concepts” annually, according to McCammon, who was named president of the luxury vehicle maker a year ago.

“We want to be an enabler of forward-thinking technology,” McCammon told the Business Journal. “I want people to see our little corner of Irvine as a hub for innovation.”

The Gyesera sedan was unveiled last month at the Amelia Island Concours show in Florida.

It is the manufacturer’s first full battery-electric sedan, with production targeted for the end of 2024.

A major update includes the first Karma-built battery pack.

“It’s time to be building our batteries in our facilities,” McCammon said.

The Gyesera—pronounced gee-ya-sare-ah—will have a starting price of $195,000 with deliveries set for next year. It’s expected to have an electric powertrain that’ll provide 590 horsepower and 693 pound-feet of torque, a top speed of 135 mph, and a battery range around 250 miles.

Limited Sales

Karma Automotive was created following the 2013 bankruptcy of luxe automaker Fisker Automotive, after that local company’s assets were sold to a China-backed firm and restructured in Irvine in 2014.

The new company kept the name Karma, which was the first vehicle introduced by Fisker Automotive.

The Irvine-based firm, currently the fifth largest automaker in Orange County by employee count, has no ties to Fisker Inc., the Manhattan Beach-based EV maker founded in 2016 by Henrik Fisker, which is now experiencing its own financial issues.

McCammon took over the top spot last year at Karma Automotive from Lance Zhou, and counts 30 years of product development and engineering in the transportation industry.

Prior to Karma, he served as global managing director for Ricardo Inc., an international environmental, engineering and strategic transportation company.

Since joining Karma, McCammon has laid out a strategy that relies on a revamp of Karma’s vehicle portfolio, to match the likes of Aston Martin or Ferrari with smaller volumes and higher price points.

Karma reported about 500 U.S. vehicle sales in 2022 and 2023; it halted production last May to “put a clear focus on quality,” he said.

The automaker now has three new EVs scheduled to launch through 2026—the Revero, the Gyesera and the Kaveya. Planning for the new vehicles started soon after McCammon joined in May.

Gyesera’s Bridge

McCammon dubbed the all-electric Gyesera as Karma’s “bridge,” pointing to the
car as the connecting piece between its foundational EV, the Revero, and its upcoming higher end model, the Kaveya super coupe.

“It’s aimed towards moving the brand upmarket,” McCammon said.

Each model will have a limited number of vehicles made to set up that level of exclusivity. No more than 800 Gyeseras will be built per year, McCammon said.

The Revero, an updated version of Karma’s hybrid sedan GT from 2016, will be the first to come to market this year during the third quarter.

McCammon described the car as an entry point to Karma, starting around $143,000 as the lowest price.

“We want to evolve that product to serve as the base of our brand,” he said.

Karma announced the Kaveya BEV model last November as the flagship model and highest end of its vehicle line, or its “North Star.”

“We wanted to put that stake in the ground first so that everyone can get a sense of where Karma is going,” McCammon said.

There will be two versions of the super coupe available, one with rear-wheel drive and the other with all-wheel drive, in 2025 then 2026 respectively.

Kaveya reservations require a $10,000 deposit. The base price of the EV coupe will be $300,000.

“For us, playing at a high end of the market with a very particular kind of customer, we can push in a way where we can share our learnings with the broader industry,” McCammon said.

“I look at my vehicles as a validation platform for technology.”

Tech Upgrade

When McCammon first joined Karma, he began an assessment of the EV maker’s projects and data.

The company “cut spending on programs that weren’t clearly aligned to drive the short- and long-term value of our enterprise, and we rallied the team around a vision to be a leader in the future ultra-luxury vehicle market,” he said last week.

He felt that the company had fallen behind in curating its software program and began trying to increase its tech capabilities.

The first step was to start gradually changing the connected vehicle platform, called the Karma Cloud Service, or “the backbone of the vehicle’s architecture,” McCammon said.

The software allows the company to deliver digital updates to each vehicle, similar to a Tesla or Rivian electric vehicle, and also contact drivers about their EVs through notifications similar to a mobile device.

These features “are what enables us to create the ultra-luxury experiences,” McCammon said.

The executive’s idea is to take the modern digital experience of the driver and combine it with premium features within a Karma car, which is designed to evolve with every new model.

Airbiquity Buy

Karma recently acquired Seattle-based Airbiquity which had been developing its own software vehicle platform along with data management, diagnostics and over-the-air platforms.

“These things matched our roadmap like Lego blocks,” McCammon said.

The deal included acquiring Airbiquity’s intellectual property and integrating it into Karma, along with hiring key members of the firm to continue their work as part of the automaker.

McCammon said the firm was an early purveyor of connected vehicle technology such as “infotainment” and telematics, and that he had known of their technology for several years.

Airbiquity has operated in around 60 countries working with original equipment manufacturers, such as Nissan and General Motors, for the past two decades.

“They’ve really codified a solution that is more universal and more inclusive,” McCammon said.

“I needed a way to accelerate to state-of-the-art [software] as quickly as possible and this gave me a path to do that,” he said.

McCammon is also looking to add new supercomputing hardware to the car.

“By the time we get to the Kaveya, and the vehicles that follow, we’re going to change the entire computing platform in the car,” McCammon said.

“Tremendous resources have been invested into this company and our mission is to maximize the value of that capital while creating a new kind of luxury experience for our customers,” he said last week.

The post President Marques McCammon Revamps Vehicle Portfolio for Ultra-Luxe Market appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.

Last week, the electric vehicle manufacturer (Nasdaq: RIVN) unveiled its mid-size lineup of three new EVs, called the R2, R3 and R3X, at Laguna Beach’s Rivian South Coast Theater, the first marquee event since it purchased and renovated the 11,000-square-foot theater.

“Every single decision in the vehicle—there’s millions of decisions that have been made across thousands of engineers—were incredibly focused on ensuring every one of those was not only optimizing what the ownership experience will be, but optimizing our ability to make this very affordable and very accessible,” Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said at last Thursday’s unveiling.

The R2 SUV, a smaller, more affordable version of its R1S vehicle, isn’t the only aspect of Rivian that’s been slimmed down of late.

Even though the Irvine-based EV maker surpassed its production goals last year, its latest forecast for the coming year, announced last month, disappointed investors. While the company’s stock climbed 27% in 2023, it’s fallen nearly 40% this year.

At press time, Rivian sported a $12.5 billion market cap, well below its post-IPO high of more than $120 billion in November 2021.

The company disclosed a few weeks ago that it’s laying off 10% of its salaried workforce of almost 17,000.

About 190 workers based in Orange County across Irvine and Tustin were let go, and another 149 in Palo Alto, according to state employment records.

Rivian reported employing nearly 2,200 people in Orange County as of last year.

Pivotal Year

The recent tumult comes during a pivotal year for Rivian, which is racing to move toward profitability, after burning through billions of dollars since its inception nearly 15 years ago.

The unveiling of its new R2, which is priced lower than its R1 units that start at $69,000, is one part of that equation. Production of the R2 is scheduled to begin at the company’s Normal, Ill. plant in 2026, with the R3 and R3X models to follow.

“We do think we’re in a very interesting moment in time where there is a lack of choice of highly compelling EV products in that $45,000 to $55,000 price range,” Scaringe told analysts on an earnings call in February.

“We built out the high price side of our portfolio, but we hadn’t brought in the more affordable variants of R1.”

Rivian recently added a “standard range” option for the R1 SUVs and pickup trucks that lends a lower price point to help the more “price-sensitive” customer.

The R2 has a starting price of $45,000 and the R3 crossovers will be priced even lower.

On the day the company revealed its new vehicles, shares in the company jumped 13% to $12.51 a piece.

Elon’s Advice

Rivian’s problems even brought advice from rival Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who wrote on X, “They need to cut costs massively and the exec team needs to live in the factory, or they will die.”

Musk, who famously slept at his factory when ramping production for Tesla, said Rivian may go bankrupt in about six quarters on its current trajectory.

During the company’s February conference call, analysts questioned Rivian executives about its performance compared to Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), which counts a roughly $550 billion valuation and is the world’s most-valuable automaker.

“When we look at the competition that exists, we often get immediately drawn into competing directly with Tesla,” Scaringe said. “But we need to recognize only 7% of the market has electrified, meaning, really, we’re talking about how do we get the 93% of the market that’s not buying an EV to get excited about the product?”

Scaringe restated the firm’s belief that the entire automotive industry will be electric in a couple decades.

“As an industry, we’re replacing roughly 1.5 billion internal combustion passenger cars across the planet over the next couple of decades,” he said. “Rivian’s mission is to accelerate this transition.”

Production Costs

Since it began production in 2021, Rivian has produced 82,500 units, including 57,000 last year, which was 7,000 higher than its initial target.

Its production goal for 2024, however, is also 57,000, which is below the average 81,700 expected by eight analysts, according to Reuters.

Officials said expectations have been tempered by rising interest rates.

“Our business is not immune to existing economic and geopolitical uncertainties, most notably, the impact of historically high interest rates,” Scaringe said.

While the company reported $4.4 billion in revenue in 2023, it also had a loss from operations of $5.8 billion.

This year, analysts are expecting revenue to rise 8.9% to $4.8 billion.

The company forecasts its loss from operations will be about $2.7 billion this year. Its executives said it will have enough cash to fund operations through 2025.

The company raised nearly $14 billion in proceeds in its blockbuster 2021 IPO.

Rivian reiterated it’s on a path to a “modest gross profit” in the fourth quarter. The company reported $9.4 billion in cash and equivalents as of Dec. 31, 2023.

With plans to launch the R2 line at Rivian’s manufacturing facility in Illinois, total savings are estimated to be over $2.3 billion as compared to its original forecast.

Rivian said it’s focusing on reducing costs this year, such as adding new suppliers and renegotiating with existing suppliers.

It has also pushed back the opening of its new manufacturing plant in Georgia.

The automaker is planning a multi-week shutdown at its existing manufacturing facilities in the second quarter to make engineering design changes and incorporate new battery packs.

While the shutdowns will affect deliveries, the company said the new technologies are expected to increase the rate of R1 production by approximately 30%.

“Importantly, we believe our next-generation R2 platform will benefit from the scalable technology being introduced in the R1 products,” Rivian said in the most recent shareholder letter.

Another focus to increase customer demand is a retail concept dubbed Spaces. The automaker opened 10 locations in 2023 which have recorded over 130,000 visitors so far.

The company plans to open another 17 retail locations this year.

Its Laguna Beach retail center, which opened late last year, is described by the company as its “brand awareness headquarters.”

Expectations 

Analysts reacted to last month’s earnings report and 2024 production forecast by lowering their price targets or reducing their “buy” recommendations.

“It will be several quarters before Rivian emerges from its production stoppage with a leaner cost structure and a redesigned R1 platform,” said a Piper Sandler report. The firm kept its “neutral” rating and lowered the automaker’s price target from $21 to $15.

“Unlike some, we don’t think Rivian should ditch its vertical integration strategy,” Piper analysts added.

D.A. Davidson also maintained a “neutral” rating for Rivian and updated its price target from $19 to $17.

“It seems the company is trying to mature internally (improved purchasing; new trim levels; staff reductions) while at the same time managing growth as EV markets are turning bumpier,” D.A. Davidson’s Senior Research Analyst Michael Shlisky said.

Rivian “is still multiple years from the wider-audience R2 platform at this point,” Shlisky added.

The post EV Maker Rivian Reveals New Car Models In Laguna Beach appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.

Each midsize platform is designed with smaller dimensions compared to the initial R1 units while maintaining a new, larger 4695 battery cell among other engineering updates.

The R2 SUV and R3 crossovers have been designed to provide a more accessible price point for consumers, according to Rivian officials. The R2 is set to begin production and delivery in 2026 with a starting price of $45,000.

“These represent our future,” Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said at the reveal event that took place at the automaker’s Laguna Beach retail center.

“These represent what we’ve been building to and the brand we established with the R1 products, and positioning Rivian to take that further and make it more accessible to more people.”

Rivian shares were up 9.6% to $12.09 per share during midday trading with a market cap of $12 billion.

For more on Rivian, see the upcoming March 11 print edition of the Business Journal.

The post Rivian Reveals 3 New Vehicles appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.

The Orange-based company, whose dealerships in OC last year reported more than $1.4 billion in sales for the 12 months ended June 30, 2023, last week said that it had sold its two area Lexus dealers, Newport Lexus and Tustin Lexus.

Those two dealers each sell over 1,500 new vehicles per year, with combined 12-month sales of about $280 million for the 12 months ended June 30, 2023.

The buyer is Group 1 Automotive Inc. (NYSE: GPI), a Houston-based firm counting a $3.7 billion valuation that’s one of the largest dealership groups in the U.S., with 200 locations.

It also has holdings in the U.K.

The deal gives Group 1 a larger presence in OC and its expansive auto market: its only other local holdings are Mercedes-Benz of Anaheim and Toyota of Anaheim. Group 1 now has 10 locations in California, while Wilson Automotive still counts 16 locations after the sale, including eight spots in OC.

Tustin Lexus ranked No. 14 among OC’s largest dealers last year by sales, while Newport Lexus, which opened at the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Jamboree Road—Wilson has called the intersection “the most important corner in Orange County”—in 2006 at a reported cost of $75 million, ranked No. 11, according to the Business Journal’s annual auto dealers list.

High Price

Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.

Regulatory filings indicate that Group 1, which has been embarking on a strategy of switching out low-performing dealers in its portfolio for larger, higher volume locations, has been paying in the range of $60 million to $80 million per dealer the past two years.

Sources familiar with the deal tell the Business Journal that Wilson’s two Lexus properties went for considerably more, citing a combined price closer to $300 million as being likely.

Such a price would place the deal among the highest on record for dealers in the U.S.

The Newport Beach location was hailed as “the flagship Lexus dealership in the world” at the time of opening, touting a showroom the size of a football field and numerous amenities.

Parties directly involved in the transaction declined to discuss the specific terms of the deal.

Sources tell the Business Journal that Group 1 reached out to Wilson Automotive near the start of the year with interest in the two businesses and the executive initially declined.

A partner of the Tustin and Newport locations with 25% ownership then encouraged the sale, in order to liquidate their stake in the business.

It took less than 60 days to close the deal.

Orange Roots

Wilson purchased his first dealership, Toyota of Orange, in 1985 after being its general manager for three years. He now counts 16 dealers in his portfolio with annual sales totaling around $3.4 billion following the sale.

Toyota of Orange ranked No. 4 on the Business Journal’s list of auto dealers from last October, reporting $280 million in sales volume for 12 months ended June 30, 2023.

Other top-performing area dealers are Toyota of Huntington Beach and David Wilson’s Villa Ford, reporting $262 million and $217 million in sales volume during the same period, respectively.

Wilson Automotive has no plans to sell any other dealerships and is in the process of trying to acquire two more locations later this year, according to sources. Any future locations would be outside of California.

New Owner

Last year, Group 1 shed 11 dealerships with an average revenue of $37 million and added six other dealerships with an average revenue of $183 million.

The two new Lexus franchises are expected to increase the organization’s annual sales by generating $350 million for the year, “bringing 2024 year-to-date total acquired revenue for Group 1 to $850 million,” officials said in a statement.

Lexus vehicles had one of the largest percentage gains among the top 20 selling brands in OC last year, according to the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association (OCADA).

The automaker saw OC registrations up 15% from the year before.

The post Wilson Sells 2 Lexus Dealers to Group 1 appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.

Rivian estimated it will make 57,000 vehicles this year, which Reuters said was below analyst average estimate for 81,700.

The EV maker cited “economic and geopolitical uncertainties and pressures, most notably the impact of historically high interest rates” as factors in the 2024 forecast.

“We firmly believe in the full electrification of the automotive industry, but recognize in the short-term, the challenging macro-economic conditions,” Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said in a statement.

Rivian produced more than 57,000 vehicles in 2023, surpassing its initial guidance of 50,000.

Fourth quarter revenue rose 98% to $1.3 billion, beating the general analyst estimate of $1.26 billion for the quarter. The automaker’s market cap was $14.7 billion prior to the announcement.

Rivian is scheduled to reveal its R2 model on March 7 at its Laguna Beach retail center.

The post Rivian Automotive Drops 15% After Q4 Report appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.

The Irvine-based electric vehicle maker (Nasdaq: RIVN) late last month filed plans with the city of Laguna Beach to use its South Coast Theater event space along Coast Highway, along with a portion of the city-owned Main Beach Park, for the launch of its R2 vehicles.

A “worldwide product launch” for the R2 is planned for March 7, city filings indicate. The half-day event will be open to the public.

Rivian, valued around $15 billion as of last week and the fourth-most valuable public company based in Orange County, confirmed the forthcoming event on its Instagram page last week, saying “get ready to meet R2.”

Affordability Focus

The R2, the company’s second line of products after its R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV, have been touted as more affordable options than its inaugural vehicles.

Rivian currently sells those two existing vehicles with prices starting around $73,000 and $78,000, respectively. It made close to 54,000 vehicles last year, topping prior expectations.

The R2 vehicles, expected to be smaller than the vehicles in Rivian’s existing lineup, could run between $40,000 and $60,000, officials have told analysts in prior earnings calls.

Details on the specific features of the new R2s haven’t been disclosed. Online trade industry publication Autoblog cited a crossover vehicle similar in respects to a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a pickup truck that would compete with the Ford Ranger, as the most likely vehicles to fall under the R2 line.

Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough told analysts during the company’s latest earnings call that Rivian aims to start production of the R2 platform in 2025 for the 2026 vehicle year, out of its new production plant in Georgia.

Brand Awareness HQ

Rivian took the wraps off its showroom in Laguna Beach a few months ago, following a multiyear renovation of the historic South Coast Theater.

The showroom is No. 11 in Rivian’s retail portfolio—it counts other locations throughout the U.S.—and it’s the largest at 11,000 square feet.

Expect more headline-making events at the Laguna Beach location, which is roughly 15 miles and a half-hour’s drive from Rivian’s headquarters in Irvine.

City filings indicate that Rivian considers the Laguna Beach spot as “the company’s brand awareness headquarters.”

In addition to showing off its vehicles, the showroom also includes an Equator Coffees shop, a merchandise store featuring a collaboration with locally based Almond Surfboards and a second-floor meeting space.

Rivian spent the last two years converting the historic theater into its flagship retail space while restoring the single-screen theater and placing it on the National Register of Historical Places.

The original 129-seat theater area, ticket booth, lobby, balcony and marquee remain, along with the original theater owners’ apartment, which will be used by Rivian employees.

Chief Executive RJ Scaringe “was really excited about what adaptive reuse could mean for a space like this,” Tony Caravano, Rivian’s senior director of customer engagement, told the Business Journal in December.

Rivian founder Scaringe has a home in the city.

The post Rivian Plans Local Unveiling for New R2 Model appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.

The automaker, which has its North American headquarters in Irvine, last week unveiled its 2025 CX-70, a mid-sized SUV which is set to begin sales in spring 2024.

The CX-70 is Mazda’s second electrified vehicle with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. It will also be the first Mazda vehicle to include Amazon’s voice activated AI program Alexa, which is typically used in home devices.

Last year, Mazda introduced the CX-90 model, another SUV and the company’s first step in the plug-in and hybrid sector.

“We have been very pleased with the market reception to the CX-90 and expect the same with CX-70 as well,” Mazda North American Operations CEO and President Tom Donnelly told the Business Journal.

Mazda reports that 2023 was the best year for unit sales in almost 30 years for its North American division. One part of that growth was the CX-90, which sold 30,821 in its initial year.

“It’s been a significant lift in our business since the [CX-90] introduction,” said Donnelly, who took over the top role last April.

The company’s North American operations ended 2023 with full-year unit sales rising 23% to 363,354 vehicles, marking its best year since 1994.

Donnelly noted that several different models grew more than 20% last year, including the CX-50 model, a crossover vehicle that was released over 18 months ago. That growth was the result of long-term strategies developed by the company’s Irvine office for its new products and retail improvements, Donnelly said.

“This is not a one-year blip,” he added.

“It goes back to the execution of the plans that we put in place a number of years ago, and the building block effect it’s had on our business.”

Mazda is Orange County’s fourth-biggest automaker with regional headquarters here, reporting 370 local employees; companywide, it has 336,000 employees.

On the Road

Donnelly took over the president and CEO role from Jeff Guyton last year.

Guyton became chief financial officer for Mazda’s Japan-based parent company, Mazda Motor Corp.

Donnelly joined the car company in 2008 as a director of service and parts operations in Texas before moving up the ranks.

“Not many auto CEOs can say they started in service and parts,” Donnelly said.

His 16 years of experience have offered him multiple perspectives, he said, which now help him execute the plans currently in place at the automaker.

Following the launch of the new CX-70, Mazda will move to make a version of the CX-50 with the plug-in hybrid technology later this year, marking the end of the first phase on Mazda’s road to electrification.

After 2024, Mazda will begin to develop electrified versions for all its models.

By 2030, all Mazda products will be at least partially electrified, and pure-electric vehicles will account for at least 25% of the lineup, according to the company’s current plans.

There will be seven to eight unique electrified models introduced globally as part of this plan.

While upgrading all its vehicles and introducing more plug-ins and hybrids, Mazda will begin to produce its own battery-electric infrastructure and its first battery-electric vehicle between 2025 and 2028.

This will allow Mazda to create multiple battery-electric models based off its own architecture in the years to come.

“Mazda is looking at the industry’s transition to electrification as an ‘intentional follower,’” Donnelly said.

That means the automaker is in no rush to outpace the market.

“We think for right now, plug-in hybrid is the right technology for the marketplace, given some of its challenges of receptivity and overall demand,” Donnelly said.

“We feel well-positioned with the offerings we have right now as we transition towards an electrified future where we have multiple offerings by 2030.”

Retail Redesign

Donnelly said another “building block” to continuing Mazda’s trajectory is a retail initiative from 2014 to redesign its dealerships and facilities to improve the customer experience when purchasing its vehicles.

As of January, 285 locations have been updated to match a new concept designed to encourage customer growth and retention.

Features include an open-concept floor plan, a customer lounge and other amenities built in.

The Mazda dealers that have completed the design transition report a significant increase in customer loyalty and sales with “retail evolution” stores outperforming other locations by an average of 5.7%.

“We’re making a difference in how Mazda is viewed in the marketplace,” Donnelly said.

There are 75-80 “retail evolutions” set for this year. Mazda counts 795 dealers across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Colombia.

“We expect that to provide a significant lift as well,” Donnelly said.

The post Mazda CEO Drives Road to Electrification appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.

The partnership, announced last month, allows Karma to have early looks into climate research through the university’s Beall Applied Innovation facility and to collaborate with the team on topics of climate action and sustainability.

“We invite other like-minded Southern California companies to join us on this exciting journey,” UCI Chief Innovation Officer Errol Arkilic said in a statement.

Karma in turn donated $100,000 to UCI’s Proof of Product program, which provides funds for researchers looking to achieve commercial advancement of their research projects.
“Aligning with UCI’s RADiCal initiative helps us meld our vision for the ultra-luxury automotive marketplace with forward-thinking research and real climate action opportunities,” Karma President Marques McCammon said.

Karma tapped McCammon as president last April. His hiring precedes the EV maker’s multiyear plan to debut at least one luxury EV per year over the next two to three years, Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Wawrzyniak said last year.

Ex-Apple Execs Turn to Rivian  

In one month, Rivian Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: RIVN) has added two former Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) executives. The new hires come ahead of this year’s upcoming reveal of its next line of electric vehicles, the R2.

The Rivian newcomers, Jonas Reinke and DJ Novotney, have both counted ties to the tech giant’s automotive technology department and new product development.

Reinke was announced as Rivian’s new vice president of product management mid-January and was described to be “instrumental in driving product strategy” when looking ahead to the new R2 model and future platforms, as well as continued vehicle improvements.

He was most recently the head of product, mobility and automotive services at Apple, with “infotainment” as a focus. Reinke was with $2.9 trillion-valued Apple for four years.

“I look forward to working closely together as we tackle this next great wave of product launches,” Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said on LinkedIn.

Novotney joined a week after, reported by Bloomberg. He is said to become the senior vice president of vehicle programs at the Irvine automaker.

Novotney was at Apple for 21 years having worked on projects such as the iPod and iPad devices. He was the former vice president of engineering overseeing the development of new technologies.

As for Rivian’s new technologies, the EV maker plans to manufacture new battery packs for all its vehicles, starting with the R1 trucks and SUVs this year. The R2 vehicles will include the new battery packs when they start production in 2026.

Rivian says these upcoming EVs are meant to be more affordable options in the market as it aims to lower production costs, according to Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough at a tech conference in December.

In 2023, Rivian produced 57,232 vehicles that exceeded its full-year production guidance of 54,000 cars, which had been updated from 52,000 in November.

The automaker is currently Orange County’s third-most valuable public company with a market cap of $15 billion. Shares are up 12% from year-ago levels and currently trading around $16.

The post Karma Automotive Partners With UCI   appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.

Mazda North American Operations today unveiled the 2025 CX-70 that is set to begin sales in spring 2024.  

The post Mazda Reveals Second Electrified Model, 2025 CX-70 appeared first on Orange County Business Journal.