RJ Scaringe, founder and chief executive officer of Rivian Automotive Inc., introduces the R1T Electric Pickup (left) and R1S Electric Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) during a unveiling ceremony at AutoMobility LA prior to the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles. California.
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Electric vehicle startup Rivian announced Friday that it had closed a $ 2.5 billion financing round led by existing investors Amazon, Ford Motor and T. Rowe Price.
The company said it has raised about $ 10.5 billion to date. Rivian closed a $ 2.65 billion investment round in January and another $ 2.5 billion round last July. It raised $ 1.3 billion in December 2019 and at least $ 1.5 billion before that.
“As we near the start of vehicle production, it is important that we continue to look ahead and drive Rivian’s next phase of growth,” said RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian, in a statement, adding that the new funds in the Expansion of new vehicle programs will flow. the company’s domestic presence and international product launch.
The financing announcement comes after Rivian announced on Thursday that it would open a second manufacturing facility in the United States. Several US states have submitted bids for the facility, known internally as the “Project Tera”. Rivian will announce the plant in the coming months and break the ground early next year, reported Reuters, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Rivian already operates a plant in Normal, Illinois, where it plans to begin production of an all-electric pickup truck and SUV.
Last week, the company announced to buyers that it is delaying shipments of the R1T pickup until September and the R1S SUV until later this fall. Scaringe blamed a number of problems related to the pandemic “from plant engineering to the installation of devices to the delivery of vehicle components (especially semiconductors),” according to a letter to customers.
The consumer delays have not affected Rivian’s plans to provide electric delivery vehicles to its partner and investor Amazon, the company said.
In September 2019, Amazon agreed to buy 100,000 electric vehicles from the start-up as part of its ambitious plan to run the Amazon fleet entirely on renewable energy. The company plans to test electric delivery vans in 16 cities by the end of 2021.
