Amazon, Ford-Backed Tesla Rival Rivian Plans 2nd US Manufacturing Facility; Secures $2.5B In New Funding Round

Amazon.com Inc AMZN and Ford Motor Co F-backed electric vehicle maker Rivian is scouting locations to build a second manufacturing plant in the United States and said it has closed a $2.5 billion funding round, led by existing investors.

What Happened: Rivian currently has a manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois and a second plant will help the EV startup expand capacity and include a 50 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery cell production operation, as per Reuters, which first reported the development. 

“While it's early in an evolving process, Rivian is exploring locations for a second U.S. manufacturing facility,” Rivian spokeswoman Amy Mast told Benzinga.

“We look forward to working with a supportive, technology-forward community in order to create a partnership as strong as the one we have with Normal, Illinois.” 

See Also: Tesla Rival Rivian Delays Launch Of R1T Electric Pickups By A Month

The project requires an estimated 2,000 acres of land and construction could begin in Fall, as per Reuters. Setting up a new vehicle plant could cost up to $1 billion or more and a battery cell production factory can be set up for at least $2 billion.

Rivian's latest fund raise comes from exisiting investors such as Amazon, Ford and T. Rowe Price. The electric vehicle start-up said it has raised about $10.5 billion since 2019.

“As we near the start of vehicle production, it’s vital that we keep looking forward and pushing through to Rivian’s next phase of growth,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said, adding that the fresh funding will help in expanding new vehicle programs, the company’s domestic facility footprint and international product rollout.

Why It Matters: The California-based startup is valued at $27.6 billion and is reportedly planning to get a U.S. listing in September. The IPO timing is not certain and the listing could occur in late 2021 or even 2022, as per a Bloomberg report.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe had just last week in a letter to customers revealed a delay in the deliveries of the launch edition of its electric pickup truck R1T to September, previously expected in July. R1S deliveries have been pushed back to fall.

Amazon has an agreement with Rivian to deliver 100,000 electric delivery vans as it strives to be carbon neutral by 2040.

EV startups and legacy automakers are competing to bring their electric pickup trucks to the market, amid a shift in demand.

Ford Motor Co F revealed the electric version of its best-selling F-150 pickup truck last week that will go into production next year. General Motors Co GM is working on a third full-size electric pickup truck.

Tesla Inc’s TSLA Cybertruck is expected to go into production later this year.

Click here to check out Benzinga's EV Hub for the latest electric vehicles news.

Photo: Courtesy of Rivian