Rivian Automotive announced on May 2 that the State of Illinois offered an $827 million incentive package to expand its electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois, to produce its new mid-sized SUV line, known as the R2.
Why is that important to Lake Country? That line of vehicles was supposed to be built at the company’s Georgia facility at Stanton Springs North in Morgan and Walton counties in the second half of 2026.
“Rivian’s Georgia plant remains an extremely important part of its strategy to scale production of R2 and R3,” the company wrote in a March 7 news release. “The timing for resuming construction is expected to be later to focus its teams on the capital-efficient launch of R2 in Normal, Illinois.”
The company’s deal with Georgia in 2021 was the largest in the state’s history, at $5 billion, until the state later agreed with Hyundai to build a $5.5 billion plant near Savannah, which is currently under construction.
As for Georgia’s investment, state and local economic development agencies, we offered Riviaan $1.5 billion in incentives, including tax credits, a 25-year no-cost lease, and $198.1 million in site and road improvements on 1,978 acres.
Gov. Brian Kemp stated in March that he expects Rivian to follow through.
“We honor our commitments in our state, and we’re going to do that in regards to this site, and we’re expecting the company to honor their commitments as well,” Kemp told reporters at the state capitol.
Rivian has had no shortage of financial concerns since originally being supported by Amazon and Ford during its Initial Public Offering of stock, according to a recent article on Yahoo Finance. Once trading at more than $172 per share, the stock is currently in the range of $10 per share, also well below the IPO price of $78.
According to a Reuters article, the company has had two rounds of layoffs this year. It first cut 10% of its workforce in February and another 1% in April.
Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Brenda Trammell cited financial concerns as part of her decision not to validate the bonds required for Rivian to receive its Georgia incentives. That ruling was eventually overturned.
Rivianestimated that shifting production of the R2 to Illinois will save the company more than $2.25 billion with no timeline given to begin manufacturing in Georgia.