Rivian is Damn it $827 million in incentives from the state of Illinois to support the development of a next-generation electric vehicle known as the R2.
Rivian announced Thursday that the Illinois State Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will provide the funds, which will be used to expand the automaker’s existing plant in Normal, Illinois, build support infrastructure and enhance job training programs for its workforce. Factory updates will begin “in the coming months.”
The funding announcement comes just two months after Rivian introduced the R2 midsize SUV, which is expected to start at around $45,000 when it goes on sale in 2026. It also plans to build and sell a hatchback called the R3 powered by the same platform EV supporting R2.
Rivian had originally planned to build the R2 in a brand new $5 billion factory in Georgia. But the company announced at the R2 event in March that it had decided instead to build the R2 in Illinois, where it currently builds its R1T pickup, R1S SUV and commercial electric trucks.
The decision to move away from the Georgia plant allows the startup to move ahead of schedule for the R2 SUV and save more than $2 billion. Rivian said it remains committed to building the Georgia plant. But continued losses and the company’s struggles to scale production — it will build about the same number of EVs this year as last year — have forced it to rethink its plans for the next-generation vehicle.
Rivian is set to receive $1.5 billion in incentives from Georgia if it ever builds a plant there. That incentive package, the largest in state history, comes with several commitments from Rivian, including that it will hire 7,500 people earning an average annual salary of $56,000 through the end of 2028. Under the deal, Rivian agreed to continue maintenance from those jobs through 2047. Rivian must make repayments to the state and the joint development authority (JDA) each year it is 80% below maintenance.
