Future Fund Managing Partner Gary Black is optimistic about California-based EV maker Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) and expects it to deliver 14,000 units of its delivery vans this year.

Black noted that this is the first deal for Rivian after the company announced last month that it had ended its exclusivity agreement with online retailer Amazon.com Inc for its delivery vans.

Amazon placed an order for 100,000 EDVs from Rivian in 2019. As per the initial contract, Rivian could deliver solely to Amazon for four years after initial deliveries. The California-based EV maker started delivering to Amazon in 2022.

Currently, Amazon, who is also a Rivian shareholder, has over 10,000 Rivian-made vans on the road and has delivered over 260 million packages with them. 

However, last month, Rivian said that it had amended the terms and conditions of the agreement to allow it to sell its vehicles to other fleet operators as well.

Black’s Take: The end of the exclusivity agreement has opened the door for more customers. For the entire year, Black sees the EV maker delivering 54,000 vehicles including 14,000 delivery vans. This is in line with the company’s production guidance of 54,000 units.

In financial terms, Black expects the EV maker to be gross margin positive by the last quarter of 2024 and EBITDA positive by 2026.

Photo by Tada Images on Shutterstock

Rivian Price Action: Rivian shares closed 14% higher at $22.43 on Thursday.

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