Rivian Plans New Demo and Service Location in NoVA

Even in the face of a host of financial challenges, electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian is finding the capacity to charge up a new industrial space in Northern Virginia. 

The Irvine, Calif.-based company recently leased a 42,000-square-foot industrial space at 42734 Trade West Drive in Sterling, Va., with an entity that’s tied to nearby used car dealership HYA Auto Sales, according to the Business Journals. Rivian this week filed a “lease and permit submission” land use application for the space with Loudoun County.

Rivian plans to use the space to take appointment-only “demonstration drives,” according to the application, as well as a vehicle pickup and service location. The company operates a similar facility at 8787 Snouffer School Road in Gaithersburg, Md., and at 2289 Dabney Road in Richmond, Va.

Representatives for Rivian did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Despite a strong IPO in 2021, Rivian has faced some financial hurdles in recent years. The company in the first quarter of this year posted a $541 million net loss, though still an improvement over the $1.45 billion net loss it posted a year prior. The company’s stock price is also down massively since its peak in late 2021, from roughly $172 per share to just under $16 per share as of Thursday afternoon.

Rivian also reported its second consecutive quarter of gross profit with a gain of $206 million, though the company’s relatively high prices can ultimately be a barrier too high for many consumers, founder and CEO RJ Scaringe indicated during Rivian’s first quarter earnings call this year.

“The challenge is, consumers are more price sensitive than they typically are — or typically have been, I should say — and are looking for lower-priced alternatives,” Scaringe said.

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.