ELECTRIC CARS Rivian has started his stock market adventure

 It is more than the legendary Ford or General Motors manufacturers even though it has barely taken its first vehicles off the production line.

Rivian, an American manufacturer of pick-ups,

SUVs and electric vans, on Wednesday started his stock market adventure on the hats of wheels on Wall Street, where it is now worth more than $ 100 billion.

It is more than the legendary manufacturers Ford (78 billion) or General Motors (86) even though it has barely taken its first vehicles off the production line, prompting comparisons with Tesla in the process.

Rivian had set its introductory price at $ 78 on Tuesday evening, well above the range of $ 57 to $ 62 considered less than ten days ago. In view of the strong demand, it also increased the number of shares issued on Tuesday.

$ 12 billion in new money

But that wasn't enough to quench the thirst of the market, which briefly propelled it up more than 50% at the start of its listing, around 4:00 p.m. GMT. At around 4:40 p.m. GMT, the stock was trading at $ 108.79, or a market capitalization of around $ 108 billion.

The IPO allows it to recover at least $ 11.9 billion in new money. This is the largest fundraiser in this way since 2014 and the arrival on Wall Street of the Chinese giant Alibaba.

The company was founded in 2009 by Robert Scaringe, a car enthusiast who wanted from the end of his studies to focus on low-polluting means of transport.

He initially thought about developing a sports car, but reoriented in 2012, believing that it would have more of an environmental impact with large vehicles.

The 38-year-old entrepreneur has convinced large companies to accompany him in his adventure, including Ford, which should own 13% of Rivian's shares after its IPO.

The company has also entered into a partnership with Amazon, which has ordered 100,000 vans to be delivered by 2030 and is expected to hold around 19% of the shares after the transaction.

Still largely in deficit

The company delivered its first pickups, dubbed R1T, in September.

With rounded contours, being able to pull up to 5 tons and go about 500 kilometers with a recharge, the R1T is sold at the base price of 67,500 dollars.

Rivian plans to sell its first SUVs, vehicles at the crossroads of 4x4 and minivan, in December. Called R1S, they sold for $ 70,000.

At the end of October, the company had an order book for 55,4000 R1T and R1S that it expected to deliver by the end of 2023.

All of its vehicles are currently produced at a factory in Normal, Illinois, acquired from Mitsubishi in 2017.

Rivian is still largely in deficit. But the company was capitalizing on the investor craze for electric vehicles on Wednesday, which saw Tesla join the small club of companies worth more than $ 1,000 billion on Wall Street.

New Tesla?

"There is currently a huge demand for all ESG investments (respecting environmental, social and governance criteria)", explains Gregori Volokhine, portfolio manager for Meeschaert Financial Services.

But "there are not so many big companies" which purely meet these criteria, he adds: General Electric for example manufactures wind turbines, but also gas turbines while Ford or GM continue for the moment. to produce the vast majority of vehicles with exhaust pipes.

Rivian is sometimes touted as the “new Tesla” in the truck niche. Especially since the company has chosen, like the group of Elon Musk, to sell its cars directly to customers and not through dealers.

This comparison is not necessarily justified, according to Jessica Caldwell of the specialist firm Edmunds.

Tesla released its first model when no one really cared about electric cars, she told AFP.

A little saturated market

Rivian "arrives on a market which already seems a little saturated" with other start-ups of clean vehicles like Lucid, Faraday or Fisker, and especially the traditional manufacturers having recently taken the turn of the electric one.

"The largest manufacturer of pick-ups in the world, Ford, is preparing to launch a more affordable, larger vehicle under a better-known brand in the coming months," recalls the specialist.

Rivian could perhaps do well in the utility vehicle market even if he faces the ambitions of GM and its new subsidiary BrightDrop there.

But, also concedes Ms. Caldwell, "all investors are looking for the company that could experience the same boom as Tesla on the stock market and some think it is Rivian"