Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Electric vehicle maker Rivian applied for a federal loan to help finance the resumption of construction on its $5 billion electric vehicle factory, located about 40 miles east of Atlanta, Georgia.
In March, Rivian chief executive RJ Scaringe announced that the company was pausing construction of the plant which will have an annual capacity of 400,000 units when fully complete. The first phase will produce half that amount.
According to documents filed with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the new manufacturing facility is expected to take approximately 36 months to build, with partial operations projected to begin in the third quarter of 2027.
Start of saleable production is expected to begin in the last quarter of 2028, according to Rivian.
Full operational capacity for the first production block is anticipated by 2028. Initially, production was planned to begin in 2026.
However,The Department of Energy has not yet made a final decision. The filing did not disclose the specific loan amount or the terms requested by Rivian.
Rivian paused construction of the Georgia factory to focus on ramping up production of the R2 midsize SUV, which is set to compete with Tesla’s Model Y. Production of the R2 is slated to begin in 2026 at the company’s Illinois facility.
Rivian’s revised timeline for the Georgia factory outlines key construction milestones, with groundwork scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2026.
By late 2027, the facility will undergo manufacturing validation, with the first saleable vehicles expected to roll off the line in the fourth quarter of 2028.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Rivian Breaks Ground | Q2 2026 |
| On and off pad utilities construction | Q2 2026 |
| Shop Foundation Construction | Q2 2026 |
| CUP (central utility plant) foundation construction | Q2 2026 |
| CUP structural steel | Q3 2026 |
| Shop structural steel | Q3 2026 |
| First shop ready | Q3 2026 |
| Rail access construction | Q1 2027 |
| Last shop ready | Q2 2027 |
| Manufacturing validation | Q4 2027 |
| Start of Saleable Production | Q4 2028 |
Shares of the Irvine-based manufacturer Rivian fell 3 percent on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected deliveries for the third quarter and a guidance cut for its annual production due to a parts shortage.
Rivian said Friday it expects to produce between 47,000 and 49,000 vehicles this year, down from the previous guidance of 57,000 units.
Earlier this week, Rivian emailed new leasing offers for October on its R1S and R1T models.
Leases for the 2025 R1S Tri-Motor SUV start at $1,199 per month for a 36-month term, with deliveries expected within one to six weeks, the company said in an email to customers.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
The post Rivian Delays Start of Production at New Georgia Plant to Q4 2028 first appeared on EV.