With deliveries of Rivian’s very first vehicles just months away, and its incredible ability to privately raise money, Rivian continues to make headlines. Now we are learning that the California-based electric truck maker has its eyes on putting a factory in Europe. The news come just a day after reports surfaced suggesting Rivian was considering entering the stock market through a $50 billion IPO come this September.
Rivian entered a deal with Amazon in 2019 to provide 100,000 electric delivery vans to the multinational tech company. The deal was announced shortly after Amazon invested $700 million dollars into the EV startup. Although the familiar trend of delays seen in 2020 did not discriminate against Rivian’s upcoming R1T electric pickup and R1S electric SUV, the production timeline for the delivery van stayed on schedule.
Since the announcement some lucky onlooker have seen the Rivian-built amazon prototypes in the wild. One of the most recent sightings happened in the suburbs of Los Angeles where a friendly neighbor took a video of the electric van “singing” (or shrieking depending on how you feel about the sound) while it was out delivering packages. Shortly after, Amazon announced that its new electric vans began deliveries around the Los Angeles area inching it close to its goals of 100% clean energy by 2025.
Now, it appears that Rivian plans to expand its van production overseas. A recent report from Bloomberg, suggests the electric truck manufacturer is scouting locations in Europe to build a new factory.
According to the report, Rivian will first manufacture electric delivery vans, then redirect its focus to manufacturing electric vehicles for its consumers. Germany, the U.K., and Hungary are all being considered as potential factory locations.
As mentioned earlier, Rivian has made it clear that it needs no help when it comes to funding. Investments from huge names like Amazon, Ford Motors, and Tesla-investor T. Rowe Price have helped the automaker quickly become one a potential top competitor in the EV segment, particularly to Tesla. Rivian has managed to raise $8 billion in private capital since unveiling the R1T and R1S in 2018.
With its incredible fundraising skills, Rivian’s decision to go public was clearly imminent, and the automaker recently announced plans for an IPO valued at $50 billion as early as this September. A stark difference compared to the SPAC-happy headlines we’ve seen recently, Rivian appears to be taking a more traditional approach. Given that Rivian is expected to start deliveries of the R1T Launch Edition in June, this could be a perfect opportunity for the EV startup to pull some revenue prior to going public. The R1S Launch Edition will follow close behind the R1T with deliveries scheduled for August.
With the decision to go public, Rivian is now apparently focusing on expanding globally and is looking at factory locations in Europe. A huge step for a startup that has yet to delivery its first vehicles. However, considering the names that are backing Rivian, and the 100,000 electric delivery vans it’s expected to supply to Amazon, it might not be a bad idea.