Dive Brief:
- Rivian will invest nearly $120 million to construct a 1.2 million square-foot supplier park in Normal, Illinois, according to a May 5 announcement.
- The development “will pave the way for EV suppliers to locate in the park and create hundreds of new jobs while bolstering the supply chain and manufacturing ecosystem in Illinois,” representatives from the state and Rivian said in a statement. Construction is underway and is expected to create 100 jobs when completed in 2026.
- “Rivian's investment will attract suppliers from across the globe to invest in Illinois and continue to create good-paying jobs, providing Illinois with the competitive edge to thrive in the clean energy economy,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said.
Dive Insight:
Rivian announced plans last year to shift production of its forthcoming R2 SUV from its planned electric vehicle factory in Georgia to Normal, Illinois to get the vehicle to market faster. The first models are expected to roll off the assembly line in the first half of 2026.
Rivian paused construction of its Georgia EV factory as a cost-cutting move to save more than $2.25 billion. However, the company said in January it will resume construction of the plant in 2026 after securing a $6.6 billion Department of Energy loan to fund its construction.
Rivian said it will continue producing EVs in Normal after its Georgia plant becomes operational in 2028.
In addition to the new R2, Rivian is currently building its R1T pickup, R1S SUV and commercial electric vans in Normal, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe, said in a statement. The supplier park will aid the company as it ramps up production in Illinois, he said.
The goal of the supplier park is to encourage suppliers to locate to Normal to produce and provide components for Rivian closer to the carmaker’s vehicle building operations in Illinois. The EV maker’s plant in Normal has a planned annual capacity of 215,000 units.
Illinois is providing Rivian with a $16 million incentive package to support the project. It includes a 20-year tax incentive though the state’s Reimagining Energy and Vehicles Program that’s valued at more than $5 million, as well as capital grant support, according to the release. As part of the arrangement, Rivian must invest at least $119.6 million in the supplier park project and create a minimum of 93 jobs.
Rivian’s announcement follows other automakers seeking to bolster their domestic production amidst a wave of tariffs that could raise costs on imported vehicles, automotive parts, steel and aluminum. Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Nissan and Toyota, have each announced plans to increase U.S. production as a strategy to mitigate higher duties on imported goods.
