Rivian has raised its planned production capacity for the upcoming R2 model at its Normal facility to “up to 175,000” units per year.
This marks an increase of 20,000 vehicles, or 12.9%, when compared to the capacity announced by the Irvine-based EV maker in May 2024.
Rivian originally projected that, in 2026, the Normal plant would produce 155,000 R2 vehicles, alongside 85,000 R1S and R1T vehicles and 65,000 electric delivery vans (EDVs).
On Tuesday, however, founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said in an interview at Stripe’s Cheeky Pint show that the plant in Illinois will be able to produce “up to 175,000 R2s.”
The factory, where Rivian has already produced “hundreds of production-intent builds” of the upcoming SUV, is currently undergoing retooling to accommodate its manufacturing operations.
According to Scaringe, “the first step is going from, in total, call it sub-50,000 [R2] units a year.”
The CEO reaffirmed that Rivian‘s Illinois plant has a yearly capacity of 215,000 units.
With the company raising its production forecast for the R2, it is scaling back planned capacity for the R1 lineup, as the CEO said output of its commercial vans will rise.
“And then we add in Georgia,” Scaringe noted, referring to the upcoming factory for which it has recently started construction, expected to begin manufacturing operations in late 2027.
The plant located near Atlanta will add “another 400,000 units of capacity,” supporting production of both the R2 and other upcoming models.
Rivian‘s CEO admitted that R2 production will be a “structural cost challenge” while the company produces “less than 50,000 units a year.”
As the software is completely build in-house, “the engineering fixed cost and the operational fixed cost to run that is very high.”
However, once they “add volume, then it becomes this enormous structural cost advantage,” Scaringe said, as supplier-related complexity and costs are “wiped away.”
“But you need the volume to really have it make sense,” he concluded.
In an interview earlier this month, Scaringe confirmed that the Irvine-based EV maker intends to start deliveries of the R2 SUV in the first half of 2026.
The R2 SUV is currently in “what we call a validation phase,” the CEO added, explaining that they are “building vehicles, we’re camouflaging them, driving them on public roads.”
The mid-size SUV has a planned starting price of $45,000.
