Electric automaker Rivian has been making waves in the industry of late, and its competitors are sulking. Of course, things have not always gone swimmingly for the startup, but nobody can deny that the future looks bright for a company valued at close to $100 billion after its IPO last week. The next goal for the company is to ramp up production of its vehicles, starting with the Rivian R1T. Speaking of vehicle production, the Atlanta Gazette (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) is reporting that the automaker is in the final phases of negotiations to secure a piece of land east of Atlanta, Georgia, which may be turned into a facility for producing both vehicles and batteries.
According to the publication, Rivian is considering "Newton County and Walton County" as possible locations for its new plant, but the negotiations are not final and details may yet change. Rivian has confirmed that it has considered "a number of possible sites." It is expected that the landmass Rivian wants to purchase will be between 2,000 and 10,000 acres in size and is part of a plan codenamed Project Tera, but there is really no indication of what exactly the automaker's criteria may be.
"Rivian is in negotiations with various parties on multiple sites as part of a competitive process to build a second plant," says the automaker.
Rivian's Normal, Illinois plant is where the R1S and the aforementioned pickup are currently being built alongside the Amazon delivery van. Georgia state would welcome the addition of the EV brand there as it is actively looking to lure more such manufacturers with its Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Tax Credit and is continually evaluating more ways of making EVs popular in terms of production and public adoption. Kia currently builds cars in the state and SK Battery America is also set to build a $2.6 billion manufacturing plant not far from Atlanta. A Georgia plant would surely be a good move for an automaker looking to export vehicles to Europe and the UK, but we're sure Rivian is considering many factors before making a final decision.