Electric truck plans keep getting delayed - does Rivian have an opening?
Kevin Dietsch
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) confirmed on Tuesday that it will delay the opening of its second electric truck plant in Michigan. The Detroit automaker pushed back the the conversion of its Orion Assembly plant by a year to late 2025 in order to "better manage" capital investment with with evolving electric vehicle demand.
"In addition, we have identified engineering improvements that we will implement to increase the profitability of our products," noted General Motors (GM) in a statement provided to Seeking Alpha.
The decision with the Orion plant does not impact current production of the electric Chevrolet Silverado, the electric Hummer, and Cruise Origin robotaxi. Looking ahead, General Motors (GM) also plans to expand to a second shift at its Factory Zero plant that is near Detroit, and start building the GMC Sierra electric truck in 2024.
Sector watch: Kelley Blue Book has the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T, and Chevrolet Silverado EV rated as the top electric truck models that are currently on the street. Some analysts see an opportunity for Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) to build up its electric truck reputation amid some of the struggles in the category. The United Auto Workers union headaches for General Motors (GM) and Ford (NYSE:F) are expected to slow down the electric truck production timeline for the automakers or potentially make their electric trucks less competitive on pricing, while Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has still not set a launch event date for its Cybertruck. However, the 2024 Rivian R1T is on the scene and is advertised to generate as much as 835 horsepower, tow up to 11K pounds, and accelerate from 0 mph to 60 mph in 3.0 seconds. The R1T also features EPA-estimated range of 410 miles.

More on auto stocks

Tesla Q3 Earnings Watch: All Eyes On Energy Margins
General Motors: Higher Labor Cost Erodes Competitiveness
Is Tesla Stock Still A Good Investment? 3 Questions You Need To Ask
Tesla earnings preview: Eyes on deliveries guidance, margin outlook, Cybertruck update and Gigafactory plans
GM autonomous division Cruise in NHTSA probe on hitting pedestrians