According to a report from the United Kingdom, Rivian, a US electric vehicle manufacturer, has been in covert negotiations with the British government about establishing a plant outside of the United States. This long-delayed Rivian facility might be built owing to a government-proposed assistance package, while bids from other European nations are still being considered.
Rivian and the deal
Rivian is an electric car manufacturer headquartered in the United States that is on the verge of (hopefully) delivering its flagship vehicle, the R1T truck, to consumers next month. Rivian continues to grow in popularity and scale despite not having produced a passenger EV due to recent delivery delays.
Both Ford Motors and Amazon provided financial support, which aided in the development of the project. Rivian currently has one major production plant in Normal, Illinois, where it produces electric vans for Amazon as well as the R1T and R1S EVs in their first trims.
Rivian just received a $2.5 billion round of investment, and the EV manufacturer revealed it was searching for a second US location to produce its vehicles, according to Electrek.
Rivian appears to be planning to manufacture electric vehicles on the other side of the Atlantic, and it already has a few prospective destinations in mind.
Rivian is considering expanding to the United Kingdom, Germany, or the Netherlands
Rivian has been in covert discussions to establish a factory in Bristol, according to a Sky News story. Any investment choice in a new production facility, according to the article, is expected to be valued well over £1 billion ($1.4 billion), with substantial backing from the British government.
The Bristol plant, on the other hand, is far from certain. Apart from Rivian’s lack of statement on the secret talks, industry insiders claim that the talks have not yet proceeded to the advanced phases, and that other nations are still involved. Germany and the Netherlands are two contenders for a UK Rivian factory, each submitting their own proposal to the R1T developers.
More information will undoubtedly become available in the following weeks. Regardless matter where a Rivian factory finds up in the world, it appears Rivian has great ambitions for expansion and a number of suitors eager to welcome them with land and other perks. Rivian’s focus, we believe, is on bringing the first R1T vehicles to consumers as soon as possible, especially following the aforementioned delays. More information will be shared when it becomes available.
What did the Electrek say?
Rivian has made a lot of major steps, however they haven’t spoken anything regarding a prospective expansion to the UK/EU yet. It seems inevitable, but the timing appears to be a little early given that the carmaker has yet to produce either of its highly anticipated electric vehicles.
However, the company’s recent $10.5 billion in investment may surely help increase confidence, and Techstory can’t help but wonder whether Amazon is a bigger role in a decision to extend manufacturing to a new area.
This approach makes a lot more sense if Rivian is manufacturing and deploying Amazon electric delivery vehicles in the UK or EU. Especially because the vans are now the only Rivian EVs on the road, and Amazon continues to be a major source of revenue for the firm.