Rivian factory approved: How Georgia could soon lead the nation in electric vehicle manufactoring
Rivian branding on the side of a R1T electric pickup truck at a Rivian service center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. Amazon says it now has 10,000 vehicles in its electric delivery van fleet from Rivian. Photograph
SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. - Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has officially closed the deal on a nearly 1,800-acre site located about 40 miles east of Atlanta.
The Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton counties gave the final approvals this week to the lease agreement, bonds, tax financing, and other measures to hand the property over for development by the California electric vehicle upstart.
Rivian plans to build a $5-billion, 16-million-square-foot facility on the property which has been leased for the next 50 years.
The factory will be built just north of Interstate 20 also bordered by Highway 278, Darel Drive, and Old Mill Road.
It’s supposed to produce R2 vehicles with lower price tags aimed at a mass market. The company is supposed to eventually hire 7,500 employees at the site near Social Circle, where grading of dirt is supposed to be completed by year’s end.
The first phase of Rivian’s factory is supposed to make 200,000 vehicles a year, starting production in 2024, with a second phase capable of making another 200,000 a year to be completed by 2030. The design of the R2 will be unveiled next year, Rivian officials said Thursday.
State and local governments have offered Rivian an incentive package worth an estimated $1.5 billion. The deadline for the company to complete its investment and hiring under that deal was extended to 2030 earlier this year, as Rivian said it would slow its pace of capital investment and as neighbors opposed to development of the Georgia site continued to pursue legal challenges. The company generated billions in cash with an initial public offering in 2021 but has faced questions about achieving profitability.
Last month, the Rivian space was opened at Atlanta’s Ponce City Market.
Rivian currently produces its R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV at a factory in Normal, Illinois. The vehicles currently cost more than $70,000 apiece.