Rivian expects to produce 155,000 units of the R2 SUV at its Illinois plant

The American manufacturer has once again announced negative financial results for the first quarter of the year. However, on this occasion the company justified them with good future production prospects resulting from the expansion of its plant in Normal (Illinois).

Just a few days ago, Rivian announced that it had received an incentive package from the state of Illinois worth 827 million dollars in total. A substantial sum that should serve to carry out the expansion of its current production plant in the town of Normal in this American state. In addition to the R1S SUV and the R1T electric pickup that the company already produces there, along with its delivery van for Amazon, Rivian also plans to produce its new R2 mid-size SUV at this same plant , unveiled in early March of last year.

In its annual report for the first quarter of the year, Rivian states that its priority at present is to carry out the expansion of its current production plant in Normal, which has led it to temporarily suspend its previously announced plans to build a second plant in the state of Georgia. The company also refers to its production plans once the aforementioned expansion of its Normal plant is completed, now stating that 215,000 vehicles a year will roll off its lines there, of which 155,000 units will correspond to the new R2 mid-size SUV.

The future of Rivian depends on the success of its new R2 SUV in the market

Although the company does not reveal in which year the expansion of its Normal production plant will be completed, we must bear in mind that the market launch of the R2 SUV is scheduled for 2026. On the other hand, Rivian also highlights its intention to reach a production volume of 100,000 units of its delivery van for Amazon, although it does not specify when it expects to meet this target. At the same time, the company has opened the door to selling this same electric delivery van to other firms that may be interested, thereby breaking the exclusivity Amazon has enjoyed until now.

As regards the first-quarter financial results, as we have already mentioned, they were negative. The company reports revenues during this period of 1.2 billion dollars, as a result of delivering 13,588 vehicles to customers. However, during the first three months of the year Rivian had to bear costs of around 1.45 billion dollars, which as a consequence resulted in a negative net result.