Rivian hires Magna Steyr govt as COO, report says

EV maker Rivian has employed a prime govt from a serious auto provider as its subsequent COO, based on folks acquainted with the matter, an effort to get its troubled manufacturing operations again on monitor.

Rivian has struggled to ramp up manufacturing, citing provide chain constraints equivalent to a scarcity of semiconductors. To assist sort out these manufacturing snags, it has chosen Frank Klein, the top of the car-making unit at Canada’s Magna Worldwide Inc., stated the folks, who declined to be named.

A consultant for Rivian declined to remark.

Klein was one in every of Automotive News Europe’s Eurostars in 2021 for his work in increasing Magna Steyr’s contract manufacturing business.

Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe informed analysts Thursday {that a} COO could be named subsequent week, saying the brand new govt would concentrate on scaling up the corporate’s manufacturing and provide chain operations.

“With our 2022 priorities, we have been very centered on guaranteeing now we have the proper group working in the direction of our mission,” Scaringe stated on a convention name.

The EV-maker is carefully adopted and backed by a protracted listing of stellar buyers. Nevertheless it has struggled since a blockbuster November IPO, as elements shortages and manufacturing hiccups have pummeled the inventory. Rivian has been with no COO because the starting of the 12 months when Rod Copes stepped down after lower than two years on the job.

Klein, who didn’t reply to a request for remark, has been at Magna Steyr since April 2019, based on his LinkedIn profile.

Since July 2020, he has been president of Magna Steyr, the corporate’s contract vehicle-manufacturing arm based mostly in Austria. Previous to that, he spent 25 years with Daimler AG.

Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst declined to remark.

Rivian expects to construct 25,000 autos in 2022, together with two client fashions and a battery-electric supply van for investor and buyer Amazon, lower than half of deliberate capability at its Regular, Unwell., manufacturing facility, which the corporate has blamed on provide chain constraints.