EV maker Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN) has scrapped its return policy that allowed customers to return their new vehicle in 7 days if it does not meet their needs.
What Happened: Rivian previously allowed new customers to return their new vehicles within 7 days or 1000 miles if it doesn't meet their needs. The webpage referring to the policy has now been taken down.
A Rivian spokesperson told Benzinga in a statement that the company launched the 7-day return policy to reassure customers who were unfamiliar with the brand and its products. However, since then, the company has scaled its network of Service Centers and demo drive fleet across the United States and Canada so that customers can test drive before purchase, they said.
The company now says on its website that Rivian vehicles do not have a return policy. The company instead urges customers to schedule demo drives and test the vehicle before making the purchase.
"We encourage our customers to get behind the wheel by scheduling a demo drive. You'll also have the opportunity to do a vehicle walk-around with a delivery specialist prior to accepting delivery, and are covered by Rivian's industry-leading warranties," the company support page now reads.
Why It Matters: Rivian currently has two vehicles in production, the R1T truck and the R1S SUV, both priced at around $70,000. The company has been accumulating losses for every vehicle it delivered until the first quarter of 2024 when it made a loss of nearly $39,000 for each of the 13,588 vehicles it sold.
Rivian is looking to turn its first-ever quarterly gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2024 and has been making moves aimed at cutting costs. The possible cancellation of the return policy might also be aimed at that end.
Last month, Rivian announced its intent to form a joint venture with Volkswagen aimed at creating software-defined vehicle platforms to be used in both players' future electric vehicles starting in the second half of the decade.
As part of the terms of the deal, Volkswagen will initially invest $1 billion in Rivian and then up to $4 billion until 2026. Both companies shall hold a 50% stake in the JV which is expected to be formed by the fourth quarter of 2024.
电动汽车制造商Rivian Automotive（纳斯达克股票代码：RIVN）取消了退货政策，该政策允许客户在不满足需求的情况下在7天内退回新车。
发生了什么：Rivian此前允许新客户在7天内或1000英里内退回新车，如果新车不能满足他们的需求。提及该政策的网页现已被删除。
Rivian 发言人在一份声明中告诉 Benzinga，该公司推出了 7 天退货政策，以向不熟悉该品牌及其产品的客户保证。但是，他们说，从那时起，该公司已将其服务中心和演示车队网络扩展到美国和加拿大，以便客户可以在购买前试驾。
该公司现在在其网站上表示，Rivian车辆没有退货政策。相反，该公司敦促客户在购买之前安排演示驾驶并测试车辆。
“我们鼓励客户通过安排演示活动来驾驶。在接受交付之前，您还有机会与送货专家一起巡回车辆，并享有 Rivian 行业领先的保修服务，” 该公司的支持页面现在写道。
为何重要：Rivian目前正在生产两辆汽车，R1万卡车和R1S SUV，均售价约为7万美元。该公司一直在累计交付的每辆汽车的亏损，直到2024年第一季度，其售出的13,588辆汽车每辆亏损近39,000美元。
Rivian希望在2024年第四季度实现其有史以来的第一个季度毛利，并一直在采取旨在削减成本的举措。取消退货政策的可能性也可能是为了达到这个目的。
上个月，Rivian宣布打算与大众汽车成立合资企业，旨在从本世纪下半年开始创建软件定义的汽车平台，用于双方未来的电动汽车。
作为交易条款的一部分，大众汽车最初将向Rivian投资10亿美元，然后在2026年之前投资高达40亿美元。两家公司都将持有该合资企业50％的股份，该合资公司预计将于2024年第四季度成立。
