Rivian Automotive Inc at Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : RJ, I wanted to start off with the R2, really exciting future product. Tell us a little bit more about the R2 and why that's so important for the company and on the topic of R2, the company had talked about having over 100,000 nonbinding preorders for the R2. And really, you're not disclosing preorders at this stage. But tell us a little bit more around how you think demand will be for that product and how you're assessing that?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Well, you guys were kind enough to have me at the launch event. I can door the fact that it's a really awesome looking vehicle. I'm not surprised to see you guys wrap up that many preorders. So quickly for it. Of course, you have to manufacture it, right? And so maybe we can talk a little bit about that. You're supposed to begin shipping the R2 in the first half of '26. It's less than a year away now. So tell us more what's giving you confidence you can hit that target in the first half of this coming year..

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : I think the normal facility has the potential at full capacity to make 150,000 R2s per year. This year, the company is planning to make about 40,000 to 46,000 vehicles and deliver that many across the R1 and the converse van portfolio. How fast do you think you can ramp R2 to the kind of scale? And are there any key learnings you're incorporating from the R1 ramp?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : You said before, R2 is a vehicle that could make sense for the European market. And tell us a bit more on that? And what sort of timing might investors expect for when you could be shipping R2 to the European geography?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : You said you could explore out of the Illinois plant to sort of that geography, but is there a lot of local infrastructure you would need distribution service, things like that? Maybe talk a bit more on some of those other aspects, if you do go into the European market?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : I want to talk a bit about manufacturing technology, not necessarily specific to the R2, but just as you think about Rivian and the industry, a couple of your competitors, including Tesla and Ford have talked about moving to a more parallel type of manufacturing. Tesla's called it unbox, Ford called it an assembly tree. Is that kind of manufacturing technology and approach something that Rivian would consider in the future?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Very interesting. Maybe you could talk a bit on some of the current products you're selling, starting with the R1 and your Illinois facility, you have the potential to make 80,000 R1s a year this year, something sub 40,000. What would have to happen for R1 to get to those kinds of volumes where you'd use up that level of manufacturing space? And would it require a much lower-priced SKU of R1 in your opinion?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Okay. No, that makes sense. Well, R1 is a premium product and you have some premium trims. You launched the quad motor variant in July. On your last earnings call, you talked about the tri-motor and you said demand there has been strong. Can you just talk a little bit more on what you're seeing for those products related to premium, but I mentioned it also has some good margin and obviously, really good performance. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 / 7:25PM, RIVN.OQ - Rivian Automotive Inc at Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Okay. Makes sense. I just wanted to speak a bit more on the commercial part of your business. Amazon initially ordered 100,000 commercial vehicles by 2030. The estimated deliveries to date would imply a step-up in EDV deliveries from here to reach that total, is that 100,000 total still on track?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : You talked about the potential to expand the commercial business to other fleets and businesses, what do you think it would take to see that kind of response and increase traction beyond Amazon in the commercial part of the business?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : No, that makes a lot of sense. Well, let's talk about some technology topics I've really been looking forward to the opportunity to speak with you on some of the things Rivian has underway in that broader area. Maybe we could start with the electrical and electronic architecture. You have an agreement with VW in a joint venture to provide about $6 billion of capital in various forms to Rivian over time. Gives VW access to utilize your electrical and electronic architecture. I guess the question that comes to mind for me is why do you think VW chose Rivian as a partner? And why would they utilize a partner at all and why Rivian as opposed to doing this in-house or maybe even using a Tier 1?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : You talked about the potential over time to also license this potentially to other auto OEMs. If this architecture is software defined, why does Rivian need to hold off on bringing other OEMs into use this product?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : That makes a lot of sense. One of the important applications, these architectures support is autonomy. Rivian plans to offer situational or L3 autonomy next year when drivers can at times take their eyes off the road, talk a bit more about how that feature may look for Rivian in 2026. Is this an eyes off in a traffic jam kind of scenario at low speed on very limited number of highways. Or are you thinking L3 in a wider way and maybe operating at full highway speeds.

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : There's been a lot of partnerships announced in this area of autonomous vehicles because there is so much potential as an industry here we've seen a number of announcements already. I'm curious if Rivian would consider partnering in this space. We've seen a lot out of some of the rideshare REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 / 7:25PM, RIVN.OQ - Rivian Automotive Inc at Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference companies like Uber and Lift and that may even be a way you guys bring in capital. So talk a little bit more about how much you guys do yourself? And is there partnerships to be had and maybe even with some capital behind it.

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : We will do a plug. I know you've got an AI day you're planning for December. We all look forward to learning more there. If I could just sneak one last question in, in the last less in a minute we have here. You've targeted to be adjusted EBITDA breakeven in 2027. The industry is facing tariffs, IRA purchase credits are going away. Starting next quarter. So I mean, as you think about some of these changes, in your opinion, is it possible to still hit that target? And if so, what would get you there?

Question: Mark Delaney - Goldman Sachs Group Inc - Analyst : Great. Well, unfortunately, we are out of time. RJ, I really appreciate you joining us.