Electric vehicle startup Rivian announced on March 7 that it would be pausing construction of its new factory in Georgia, a move aimed at saving approximately US$2.25 billion. The company also unveiled two new models, the R2 and the R3, with the R2 set to be produced at its existing plant in Normal, Illinois.
The decision to delay construction at the Georgia site, located about 50 miles east of Atlanta, comes as the growth of electric vehicle sales has slowed in recent months, prompting automakers to reevaluate their plans.
“Our Georgia site remains really important to us,” said Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe. “It’s core to scaling across all these vehicles.”
Originally, the R2 was slated to be the first vehicle produced at the Georgia plant. However, shifting production to Illinois will allow Rivian to begin delivering the R2 to customers sooner. The R2 is a five-passenger SUV with a starting price of about US$45,000, aimed at combining capability, performance, utility, and functionality.
In addition to the R2, Rivian also introduced the R3, a compact SUV, and a high-performance version of the R3 called the R3X. Details about production timelines for these models were not provided.
The delay in construction is a setback for Georgia and Governor Brian Kemp, who had touted the plant as the largest economic development project in the state’s history. The plant was expected to create 7,500 jobs and eventually produce 400,000 vehicles per year.
Rivian, once seen as a potential rival to Tesla, has faced challenges in ramping up production at its Illinois plant. The company sold just over 50,000 vehicles in 2023, but has struggled with losses, posting a loss of US$5.4 billion last year on revenue of US$4.4 billion.
