Electric vehicle startup Rivian announced Tuesday it has begun delivering its first batch of new midsize SUVs to customers, an effort pivotal to the company’s planned factory in Georgia.
The leaders of California-based Rivian have said the company’s new R2 model, which starts at price points lower than its flagship electric pickup trucks and SUVs, is crucial to the startup’s growth plans. Rivian’s anticipated demand for the new vehicle model is bolstering its ambitions to build a production plant an hour east of Atlanta in southern Morgan and Walton counties.
First unveiled in March 2024, the R2 started production at the company’s sole factory in Illinois. The R2 launch models start at $57,990. Two lower-priced versions are coming, including a single-motor version starting at $44,990 in mid-2027.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
“I believe the R2 will be a game-changer for our customers and will be a key driver of our company’s long-term growth and profitability,” Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe told investors in April, arguing it fills an untapped niche for electric midsize SUVs at lower prices.
Rivian’s flagship R1T truck and R1S SUVs are luxury vehicles with starting prices of $72,990 for R1T and $76,990 for R1S. The average new vehicle purchase price in the U.S. is currently about $50,000.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held last fall for Rivian’s Georgia plant, which has faced multiple delays and setbacks since being first announced in December 2021.
The Rivian project was the largest-ever jobs and investment deal in state history when it was announced, surpassed only by the Hyundai Motor Group EV factory near Savannah. Rivian has pledged to invest $5 billion in the project, which will employ 7,500 workers.
The 2,000-acre site along I-20 has been graded and prepared for vertical construction, which the company said will kick into gear this summer.
Rivian in April announced a tweak to its construction financing and phased factory construction plans. The company amended its multibillion-dollar federal construction loan, reducing its borrowing from the federal government by $2 billion. But that deal will frontload more vehicle manufacturing capacity into the first phase.
Credit: Courtesy of Rivian
Credit: Courtesy of Rivian
Rivian anticipates the first phase, which is slated to be complete in 2028, will have an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles, a 50% increase from prior plans. The company has said it will build R2s and robotaxis, part of a partnership with Uber, at the Georgia factory.
Cox Enterprises, which owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, also owns about a 3% stake in Rivian.
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