Rivian Automotive, an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, will disclose Thursday that it will build a $5 billion battery and assembly plant east of Atlanta, employing 7,500 people, according to sources informed on the matter.
Rivian, based in Irvine, California, is a startup that makes electric trucks and commercial delivery vans, vying against major manufacturers like Ford and General Motors, as well as EV pioneer Tesla.
The company presently intends two models for buyers: the R1T pickup, which will start at $67,500, and the R1S SUV, starting at $70,000. The truck was recently awarded the 2022 truck of the year by Motor Trend.
According to sources, the facility might employ up to 10,000 people in future, making it one of the largest car assembly complexes in the United States, competing with giants such as the 11,000-worker BMW facility situated in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Ford’s 8,600 workers industrial plant in Louisville, Kentucky.
Rivian will be Georgia’s biggest industrial project, exceeding the 4,400-person Kia plant that debuted in West Point in 2009.
The startup was offered a $440 million incentive scheme by the city of Fort Worth, Texas, to draw the facility during the summer. Rivian assured Fort Worth that its plant will produce 200,000 vehicles per year.
Authorities in Georgia are reluctant to reveal the whole incentive package furnished to Rivian on Thursday, but the company might take advantage of Georgia’s “mega project tax credit,” which is available to organizations that recruit at least 1,800 people or invest at least $450 million.
Rivian, like Tesla, specifically deals with its clients rather than through dealers. Its entrance in Georgia may force the state to relax legislation that primarily bars corporations from selling directly to consumers.
Amazon, which holds a stake in the company, has placed an order for 100,000 delivery vans, ushering Rivian into the commercial vehicle market.
The business claims that electric car adoption has reached a “tipping point,” and that it is ideally positioned for success because trucks and SUVs have traditionally been the most profitable vehicles sold.
Rivian, being a startup, will face strong competition in a considerably shorter time frame as its rivals, Ford and GM intend to begin selling their own electric pickup trucks within the next year or two, while Tesla intends to launch a new pickup as well.
According to the LMC Automotive research group, EV sales in the US are expected to reach about 400,000 this year, roughly doubling last year’s estimates, which can exceed 2 million by 2025, accounting for 12% of new vehicle sales in the US.
