Rivian Cleared By Georgia Supreme Court To Start Building $5B EV Factory

The state’s highest court declined to hear an appeal challenging the validity of roughly $700 million in tax breaks.

By: Iulian Dnistran

Jul 18, 2023 at 3:11am ET

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Rivian, the California-based EV company that makes the R1T pickup, R1S SUV, and Amazon Electric Delivery Van (EDV), can begin construction on its second factory after the Georgia Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal that challenged a big portion of the proposed incentive package associated with the facility, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The automotive company already operates a factory in Normal, Illinois, and announced plans for a second facility in Georgia, east of Atlanta, which was supposed to go under construction in the summer of last year with an announced investment of approximately $5 billion.

As part of the deal with the state of Georgia, the maker of the R1T and R1S was set to receive a $1.5 billion incentives package, one of the biggest in the history of the state, behind only the Hyundai Motor Group’s $1.8 billion in similar benefits for its EV assembly facility in Bryan County.

Rivian Georgia manufacturing campus exterior rendering showing plant building with planned greenspaces

The package included roughly $700 million in property tax breaks, and this was the topic of a lawsuit that put the brakes on Rivian’s new factory, with a Morgan County judge siding with the opposition and rejecting the proposed property tax breaks last year.

However, with the recent decision from the Georgia Supreme Court, construction can officially begin on the plant, one year after initially announced. A formal groundbreaking ceremony is yet to take place, but as the source notes, the site is currently being graded and the start of vehicle production is scheduled for 2026.

When fully operational, Rivian’s Georgia electric vehicle factory will have an output of 400,000 vehicles per year and will employ 7,500 people by 2028 as well as creating roughly 8,000 indirect jobs.

Rivian Georgia electric vehicle factory site plan

The California-based automaker has previously stated that its second factory will be reserved for its second-generation products that are based on the upcoming R2 platform. These vehicles will be smaller, lighter, and more affordable than the current R1S and R1T flagships which have starting prices of over $70,000.

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By comparison, the first of the next-generation EVs will have an MSRP of around $40,000 and a similar size to that of the ICE-powered Ford Bronco, according to the company’s chief financial officer.

As always, we’d like to know what you think about this, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.