A small fire broke out at Rivian‘s EV manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois on early Thursday, the second blaze at the facility in less than a year.
Emergency crews responded to a building near the truck entrance at the corner of South Unit Drive and West Coolidge Avenue. Normal firefighters were seen inside the building at gate 5.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause.
Rivian told local outlet 25News that the fire was small and that no one was injured.
The company founded and led by RJ Scaringe did not immediately respond to EV’s request for comment. This story will be updated as details become available.
2024 Fire at the Normal Plant
The fire marks the second incident at the plant since August 2024, when a blaze in a parking lot on the north side of the facility damaged nearly 60 R1T electric pickup trucks and R1S SUVs.
Aerial photos from that incident showed a cordoned-off area with dozens of vehicles displaying fire damage.
The Normal Fire Department contained the fire by midnight and reported no injuries.
The assembly plant itself was unaffected.
Rivian‘s Normal factory spans four million square feet and is located approximately 130 miles south of Chicago.
Software Issues
As reported earlier on Thursday, Rivian has not yet solved a battery range calibration issue that owners of second generation R1S and R1T vehicles first reported in November.
A software glitch causes inaccurate battery charge readings, stranding drivers when vehicles lose power despite displaying remaining range.
The company acknowledged the issue last November, assuring owners the problem stemmed from a software bug rather than battery chemistry.
