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Rivian will build a $5B factory in Georgia for next-gen vehicles [cnet.com]:

Rivian announced on Thursday that it will build a second factory in Georgia, augmenting its existing plant in Normal, Illinois [cnet.com] and confirming reports from earlier this fall [cnet.com]. The announcement came in Rivian's Q3 shareholder letter, with Gov. Brian Kemp and other state representatives also discussing the plans outside Georgia's State Capitol in Atlanta.

Construction on the new factory will commence in summer 2022 in the Morgan and Walton counties east of Atlanta, and the "carbon-conscious" site will span nearly 2,000 acres. Rivian says the $5 billion plant will be the largest economic development deal in the history of Georgia, and it will eventually employ more than 7,500 people. The Georgia factory will be focused on Rivian's next generation of electric vehicles, with production starting in 2024.

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Rivian also announced that it's expanding production at its Illinois factory from 150,000 units a year to over 200,000, but expected annual production at the Georgia factory will be nearly double at 400,000 vehicles a year. Battery cell production will eventually be "co-located" near the Georgia plant.

As part of the shareholder letter Rivian also gave updates on production of its R1T pickup truck [cnet.com] and R1S SUV [cnet.com]. While the company lost $1.23 billion in the third quarter of the year, it had generated $1 million in revenue from the sales of the first 11 R1T trucks by Sept. 30. Rivian says that through Dec. 15 it has produced 652 vehicles and delivered 386 of them, including the first two R1S models.

At the end of the third quarter, Rivian had 48,000 preorders, but that number now exceeds 71,000, with most customers having to wait until 2023 [cnet.com] for their vehicles. The first of its EDV vans for Amazon, which are built in Illinois, will also be delivered by the end of the month.

Rivian's electric R1T takes on the Rebelle Rally See all photos [cnet.com]+23 More [cnet.com]

Also at www.aljazeera.com [aljazeera.com]

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