Rivian Automotive is looking to establish a second assembly plant in the U.S. that will also include battery cell production.
A Rivian spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the company is exploring locations for the second factory, without giving more information. Unnamed sources and documents seen by the outlet show that multiple states have bid to become the home of the 2,000-acre plant.
The plant will include a 50 GWh battery cell production operation to power its vehicles and would seek to achieve net-zero carbon emissions as soon as possible. Rivian’s first plant is located in Normal, Illinois.
Read Also: Rivian R1T Electric Pickup Delayed Again Until September
According to a report, the company initially intended to decide where to build the plant this summer, but the COVID pandemic appears to have hindered those plans. What’s more, the pandemic has already impacted the company’s ability to release its electric pickup truck and SUV on schedule.
In a letter to customers sent out last week, Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said the launch of the R1T pickup had been delayed, moving customer deliveries from July to September. The R1S SUV’s launch, meanwhile, has been delayed until this fall.
The company this week announced that it had closed a $2.67 billion round of investments. In all, it has received more than $8 billion in outside investments since 2019.
Rivian may also look to help fund its second plant with a previously reported initial public offering. Through that, the company could be looking for a valuation of over $70 billion despite being valued at $27.6 billion as recently as January.
As more and more automakers have dived into the EV market, though, investors have increasingly sought to buy into any company that could lead the EV charge.
