The new forces in Chinese car manufacturing continue to show a diverse trend. In 2023, Ideal, NIO, Leading, Xiaopeng, and Nezha will all reach the threshold of 100000 vehicles, and Wenjie will become a strong competitor to the new car making force's sales champion in 2024. Moreover, Avita, Lantu, Zhiji and other "traditional car making new forces" in the second tier have also set a target of selling around 100000 vehicles by 2024.
Recently, Rivian and Lucid successively released their 2023 financial reports, and the dismal numbers clearly did not meet people's expectations. Survival remains their top priority. Musk stated on social media that according to the current development trajectory, Rivian will go bankrupt within 6 quarters.
While the new forces of Chinese car manufacturing are showing a steady and thriving trend, the new forces of American car manufacturing are still maintaining Tesla's dominance.
Recently, Rivian and Lucid, two companies among the new forces of American car manufacturing that were once expected to catch up with Tesla, released their 2023 financial reports. However, the dismal numbers clearly did not meet people's expectations, and survival remains their top priority.
Rivian released data showing that in the fiscal year 2023, the company achieved a total revenue of 4.434 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 167%. However, the profitability of the company has not significantly improved. In the 2023 fiscal year, Rivian's pre tax profit was -5.739 billion US dollars, and the net profit attributable to shareholders was -5.431 billion US dollars, which was lower than market expectations.
Rivian stock price trend
Accompanied by sluggish performance, there are also a series of negative impacts such as layoffs, declining order volumes, and lower stock prices. In terms of personnel, Rivian stated that they will lay off another 10% to maintain the company's operational efficiency.
In terms of sales, Rivian acknowledges that the macroeconomic environment and customer cancellations have led to a significant decrease in its order volume. It is expected that the delivery volume in Q1 2024 will decrease by 10% -15% compared to Q4 2023, and the vehicle delivery volume for To C and To B ends is expected to only show single digit growth throughout 2024.
Its performance in the capital market has also been deteriorating. As of February 26th, Rivian's closing price was only $10.70 per share, showing a low diving trend. The company's corresponding market value was $10.358 billion, while its peak market value had reached $150 billion.
In response, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also stated on social media X that according to the current development trajectory, Rivian will go bankrupt within 6 quarters.
Image taken from Musk's social media account
Another company, Lucid, is even more precarious. In the 2023 fiscal year, its total revenue slightly declined by 2.12% to $595 million, indicating that the company has not formed an effective business breakthrough. Its profitability has declined significantly, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of -28.28 billion US dollars in 2023, a decrease of 116.83%.
Similar to Rivian, Lucid is also not favored by the capital market. As of February 26th, Lucid's closing price was $3.15 per share, hovering at a historical low range, and the company's market value was $7.212 billion.
Lucid stock price trend
Meanwhile, data also shows that in 2023, Lucid only delivered 6001 vehicles; In 2024, the company's production target is only 9000 vehicles, which is far from its initial target of reaching 90000 vehicles by the end of 2023. In the automotive industry with significant economies of scale, Lucid is unable to achieve a breakthrough in scale or it is difficult to achieve a turnaround. No wonder Musk said that the only factor that Lucid can still survive is the maintenance of Middle Eastern capital.
In contrast, the new forces in Chinese car manufacturing continue to show a diverse trend. In 2023, Ideal, NIO, Leading, Xiaopeng, and Nezha all reached the threshold of 100000 vehicles, and Ideal delivered 376000 vehicles; In addition, Wenjie, which is only one step away from the threshold of 100000 vehicles, has enormous potential. In January 2024, Wenjie's monthly sales soared to 32973 vehicles, making it a strong competitor to the top selling new car making force in 2024.
Not only that, but also the "traditional new forces" in the second tier, such as Avita, Lantu, and Zhiji, have started to make efforts. In 2024, all three companies have set sales targets of around 100000 vehicles, and it is worth looking forward to whether they can achieve them.
