Rivian production chief resigns

Electric carmaker Rivian Automotive announced on May 27 that Charly Mwangi, an executive who helped kick off production at the company, is leaving the company,media reported .

Image credit: Rivian

Prior to joining Rivian, Mwangi was a Tesla executive and joined Rivian in May 2020 as executive vice president.Thanks to his efforts, the company's R1T pickup and R1S SUV entered production by the end of 2021.His departure comes as former Magna International executive Frank Klein joins Rivian, who will take over as chief operating officer in June, overseeing production, supply chain and manufacturing engineering.

Rivian, which has received an investment from Amazon, slashed its 2022 production target earlier this year and said it believed the reorganization of its operations team would strengthen partnerships between the company and business partners.Amazon, Rivian's second-largest shareholder and one of Rivian's main customers, expects to receive 100,000 of Rivian's electric delivery vehicles by 2024.

In the first quarter, Rivian delivered just 1,227 vehicles.The company has lost about three-quarters of its market value this year.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the company would be able to double itsproductionif there were no supply constraints, after citing semiconductor supply as one of the problems the company faces.While parts shortages have forced the company to focus on short-term supply chain issues, that hasn't stopped the company's plans to build a second factory near Atlanta.The company also plans to add versions of the model, including new motor and battery configurations.