By Kelly Cloonan
Rivian Automotive boosted its delivery guidance for the year, weeks after the electric car maker launched a key new model.
The Irvine, Calif. company said Thursday it now expects to deliver 65,000 to 70,000 vehicles this year, up from its prior guidance of 62,000 to 67,000 deliveries.
The updated guidance comes as Rivian delivered more vehicles than it had forecast for its latest quarter. The company cited robust quarter-over-quarter growth for its electric delivery van, a line of commercial cargo vans, and for R1, its flagship consumer vehicle, as well as the start of deliveries for its highly-anticipated R2.
Rivian has bet big on the R2, its new SUV which debuted last month, as it looks to turn an annual profit. The R2 starts at around $58,000 and is expected to have less-expensive variants later on, offering a lower price tag than its predecessors, the R1S and R1T, which can cost as much as $100,000.
For the quarter ending June 30, Rivian produced 12,613 vehicles at its manufacturing facility in Normal, Ill. and delivered 12,194 vehicles during the same period. The company had guided for 9,000 to 11,000 vehicle deliveries for the quarter.
The company expects to report its full second-quarter results on July 30.
Shares of Rivian rose 4.5% to $17.95 in premarket trading. The stock was down 13% year to date at Wednesday's market close.
Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com