Rivian ramping up pickup production, output slowed by SUV

The upstart EV truck-maker is aiming to hit 200 units per week at its plant in Illinois

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Rivian Automotive is ramping up output of its debut electric vehicle toward almost 200 delivery-ready units a week after working through production snags, according to people familiar with the matter, gaining traction after missing its goals in 2021.

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The pickup maker backed by Amazon.com had paused production at its Normal, Illinois plant for about a week around the start of this month for fixes and process improvements, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

After starting limited production of its R1T pickup in August, Rivian averaged about 50 units a week through the end of December. That rate has fluctuated, with the number dropping significantly lower at points last month amid COVID-19 outbreaks at the plant and supply-chain bottlenecks, the people said.

The company’s EVs have been hotly anticipated as genuine competition to market incumbent Tesla, in part because they are bigger, bulkier, and more aligned with the gas cars Americans drive today. Backed by a stellar list of investors, Rivian’s public listing in November was the biggest of the year and the sixth-biggest IPO in U.S. history.

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Output of the truck was slowed in part by the start of production on the same line for Rivian’s second vehicle, the R1S SUV, according to people familiar with the matter. While some salable R1S units have been built, the company still has some pre-production work to complete on the SUV, the people said. Rivian also had to manage through COVID-19 outbreaks in the plant, the people said.

Rivian also is working on an all-electric delivery van for Amazon, which is produced on a separate assembly line. Rivian is due to deliver 10,000 of these vans by the end of this year; and 100,000 to complete the order by the end of the decade.

Rivian’s Normal facility will be capable of producing 150,000 EVs a year by 2023, the company has said, with plans to increase capacity to 200,000 vehicles annually. In December, Rivian announced a second EV plant will be built in Georgia that will eventually be able to produce an 400,000 vehicles annually. Production is expected to start in 2024.