Rivian (RIVN) reaffirms Georgia EV plant commitment as state presses for answers
Rivian (RIVN) is still planning to build electric vehicles in Georgia, just not as soon as expected. After delaying construction, Rivian reaffirmed its commitment to an EV manufacturing plant in GA.
After unveiling the R2 last month, a smaller and more affordable electric SUV, Rivian announced it would begin production at its Normal, IL facility rather than its new $5B GA plant.
Rivian said the move would save $2.25 billion as the EV maker works to turn a profit. More importantly, CEO RJ Scaringe said it will help speed up the R2’s launch. Rivian is expected to begin R2 production in the first half of 2026.
However, not everyone is happy about the move. Although Rivian said Georgia remains “an extremely important part of its strategy to scale production of R2 and R3,” the state wants more answers.
On March 22, the Joint Development Authority (JDA) and the State of Georgia sent a letter to Rivian stating several concerns.
The letter stated that “this change in plans will require Rivian to promptly address issues,” like site conditions and safety. According to The Covington News, the letter outlined a “summary of near-term items that need to be addressed expeditiously.” At the end, it asked for “monthly updates” going forward.
Rivian reaffirms GA EV plant commitment
A response letter signed by Rivian’s chief policy officer and returned on April 18 reaffirmed the EV maker’s commitment to GA and its new manufacturing plant.
The letter stated, “Rivian further remains committed to complying with all federal and state regulations with respect to environmental matters and is further committed to ongoing coordination with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.”
Although vertical construction is not expected to begin for some time, Hoffman confirmed that Rivian will continue to work to maintain the site.
“Rivian’s overall goal is to use the pause to prepare the Project to go vertical when the pause is lifted,” the company’s response read.
Rivian agreed to provide “continuous communication and transparency” as the project evolves. “Rivian will continue to provide timely updates to our partners and the community during the pause and as we approach start of construction.”
Less than 24 hours after launching, Scaringe revealed the R2 generated over 68,000 reservations.
The EV maker officially shut down production in Normal earlier this month as it prepares for upgrades to cut costs and improve efficiency. These improvements are not directly related to R2 but could help with future production.
Scaringe previously said Rivian expects “ideally over a million units of demand across the globe.” He added, “That means we will have at least two plants producing the vehicle.”
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Mobile car care company Yoshi Mobility just launched a DC fast charging EV mobile unit that it likens to “a supercharger on wheels.”
Yoshi Mobility saw that its existing customers needed mobile EV charging in places where infrastructure has yet to be installed, so the Nashville-based company decided to bring the mountain to Moses.
“We recognized a demand among our customers for convenient daily charging, reliable private charging networks, and proper charging infrastructure to support their fleet vehicles as they transition to electric,” said Dan Hunter, Yoshi Mobility’s chief EV officer and cofounder.
The company says its 240 kW mobile DC fast charger, which can turn “any EV” into a mobile charging unit, is the first fully electric mobile charger available. It can provide multiple charges in a single trip but doesn’t detail how they charge the DC fast charger or who manufactured it. (I’ve asked for more details.)
Yoshi is launching its mobile charger on two GM BrightDrop Zevo 600s and will introduce additional vehicles throughout 2024. It aims for full commercialization by Q1 2025. (I wonder if the Zevo 600 ever charges itself? Yes, I asked that too.)
Yoshi Mobility says it’s already deployed its EV charging solutions to service “major OEMs, autonomous vehicle companies, and rideshare operators” across the US. Its initial customers are made up of large EV operators managing “hundreds” of light-duty vehicles requiring up to 1 megawatt of energy per day that don’t yet have grid-connected EV chargers. I’ve asked Yoshi for details of who it’s working with, and will update if they share that info.
The company says pricing is based on location and enterprise charging needs. Once under contract for service, the service will be deployed to US-based customers within 10 days.
To date, Yoshi Mobility has raised more than $60 million, with investments from GM Ventures, Bridgestone, ExxonMobil, and Y-Combinator in Silicon Valley.
Read more: Mercedes-Benz just opened more DC fast chargers at Buc-ee’s in Texas
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Is Toyota catching up in the US electric vehicle market? Although Toyota’s US boss, Ted Ogawa, admits it’s behind Tesla, he believes the company is “catching up” on electric vehicles and new tech.
Toyota has been among the biggest laggards in shifting to fully electric vehicles. After a rocky start (including a recall) with the launch of its first EV in the US, the bZ4X, Toyota has failed to gain traction in the market.
Of the over 2.2 million Toyota vehicles sold in the US last year, only 9,329 were all-electric, or less than 0.5%.
The trend has continued this year, with only 1,897 bZ4X models sold through March. That’s less than 0.4% of the over 486,000 Toyota vehicles sold in Q1.
Ogawa says Toyota is watching customer demand for EVs rather than regulations. “However, the BEV was our missing piece two years ago, so that’s why we were very much criticized,” Ogawa explained in a new interview with Automotive News.
After building internally over the past two years, Toyota’s US boss believes the company is “catching up” on electric vehicles and new tech.
Is Toyota catching up on electric vehicles?
For example, Ogawa said that Toyota headquarters is building a “very exclusive factory” for EVs.
The new “BEV Factory” will feature several new technologies new to Toyota. The company showed off its next-gen EV production line last year with Giga casting, a process made popular by Tesla.
Toyota says its “wealth of knowledge” about molds will help speed up production. The company believes it can reduce the lead time for changing molds to around 20 minutes compared to 24 hours.
Other tech like self-propelled assembly lines and robots are promised to enhance efficiency while minimizing defects.
Toyota also revealed new EV battery plans last summer, including two next-gen batteries due out by 2027. The first “Performance” battery is promised to feature over 800 km (497 miles) range while cutting costs by 20% compared to the bZ4X.
Meanwhile, the “Popularisation” version, due out in 2026-2027, is expected to feature over 600 km (372 miles) range at 40% lower costs.
Further out (2027-2030), Toyota plans to launch a series of “further evolution” batteries, including solid-state batteries with over 1,000 km (621 mi) range and 10-min fast charge.
Ogawa believes “this is kind of the starting year of the real multipath way, like the hybrid, which we already have, and then plug-in, something between hybrid and BEV, and then BEV, which it is time to introduce to the market.”
Although Toyota is “of course” behind Tesla’s battery tech, according to Ogawa, the company is “catching up.” Ogawa said Toyota is not only catching up on EVs but “also the ecosystem surrounding the BEV area, such as the home charging or energy management.”
Electrek’s Take
Is Toyota really catching up this time? We’ve heard this several times in the past from executives.
With EVs accounting for less than 0.4% of sales in the US, Toyota will need to do more to prove it. Toyota planned to launch solid-state EV batteries in 2021 and 2022, but now we are not expected to see them hit the market until around 2028 (at the earliest).
Other tech, like Giga casting and automated production, will help improve efficiency, but new EVs are not expected to debut until 2026.
Toyota has made several investments recently to boost US production, including a $1.4 billion investment in Indiana to build a new electric SUV, separate from its promised three-row EV model.
Can new models and tech help Toyota catch up in the electric vehicle market this time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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