Georgian startup Rivian EV to build $ 5 billion plant in Georgia

By Ben Klayman

DETROIT (Reuters) – Amazon-sponsored electric vehicle start-up Rivian Automotive Inc said on Thursday it would build a $ 5 billion plant in Georgia, the second largest assembly plant in the U.S., to increase production.

In its first-quarter results since its release last month, Rivian also reported a third-quarter loss. Rivian’s shares fell nearly 4% in overtime trading.

The new plant will employ more than 7,500 people, is expected to open in 2024, and will eventually build 400,000 vehicles a year, largely to confirm plans previously outlined in documents submitted with other states.

With a market value of nearly $ 93 billion, Rivian debuted on the Nasdaq last month in the world’s largest public offering in early 2021. Rivian raised nearly $ 14 billion in IPOs to fund future growth, in addition to the $ 10,500 billion it privately raised. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ 🙂 and Ford Motor (NYSE 🙂 Co. as investors owns 20% of Rivian and about 12% of Ford.

Irvine, a California-based company, has struggled to launch its R1T pickup, R1S SUV and delivery van for Amazon because of supply chain limitations, including chip shortages, as it affects automakers worldwide. The pickup came out in September and the SUV in December.

During the pandemic, the shortage of chips forced the carmaker to reduce its production of vehicles and the price of vehicles rose due to limited inventories. Companies are fighting the spread of the omicron variant of coronavirus to protect operations.

Rivian, other startups and established automakers are racing to take the lead in Tesla (NASDAQ 🙂 Inc. EV as the pressure to eliminate vehicle emissions grows in China and Europe.

Rivian’s Georgia plant will join Normal’s in Illinois, Illinois. The company plans to eventually open plants in Europe and China. CEO RJ Scaringe said Rivian plans to build at least one million vehicles a year by the end of the decade.

The Illinois plant currently has an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles, and Rivian said it plans to increase it to 200,000 by 2023 as it adds new vehicles. Scaringe said the company has sold its R1 range in 2023.