Rivian could supply Europe with vehicles shipped from the plant it is building in Georgia, or eventually build them in the region, VP of Investor Relations Chip Newcom said on Tuesday, but the company has still not set a date for its arrival.
“We have not announced when our plans are to get over to Europe, and certainly there is any number of dynamics that will determine when we will eventually get there,” Newcom said at Evercore ISI’s ADAS, AV & AI Forum in New York.
“We could potentially ship vehicles from Georgia, for example, or at some point, you need to do manufacturing over there.”
Rivian will first look at how the R2 ramp is going in the US and what demand looks like before deciding when to go, he said.
The Georgia plant is not due to start building vehicles until late 2028, so every R2 until then comes from Normal, Illinois.
“We continue to expect that Europe is going to be part of our story over time,” Newcom said.
A Plant Due in 2028
The Georgia plant at Stanton Springs, east of Atlanta, is targeted to start production in late 2028, a date Rivian confirmed in April when it raised the plant’s first-phase capacity to 300,000 vehicles.
Rivian is now working on the stamping press foundation and other foundations at the site, Newcom said.
The plant will eventually have annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles and will focus on the midsize platform, meaning the R2 and its variants, the R3 and the robotaxi Rivian is developing with Uber, he said.
Together with the Normal, Illinois factory, that would give Rivian more than 500,000 units of annual capacity.
Normal can build 215,000 vehicles a year, of which approximately 155,000 to 160,000 are for the R2.
Output there is limited by suppliers rather than by the plant, and Rivian is hiring for a second shift heading into the fourth quarter, Newcom said.
“It’s really the supply chain right now that is constraining production within the plant,” he said.
Rivian’s “North Star” for Normal remains 4,000 units a week, which would bring the plant to roughly full utilization, he added.
‘North America First’
Newcom struck a similar note at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia conference on September 8.
The R2 and “even R3 eventually” would be “very well-priced” for Europe, but “our focus right now remains on continuing to ramp here in North America first,” he said then.
He also acknowledged “some very interesting vehicles coming into the European market.”
Rivian’s European R2 page now carries no launch date, only a sign-up form that says “Rivian is coming to Europe.”
Earlier versions of the page carried a “Coming 2027” label, and EV reported in February that the date had been removed.
Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe told Auto Express in August that the R2 was designed with European customers in mind.
The magazine estimated a European arrival around 2028 or 2029, in line with the start of production in Georgia.
Uber’s investment of up to $1.25 billion includes milestones tied to expanding the robotaxi service to up to 25 markets by 2031, “including at least one in Europe.”
Newcom repeated that goal on Tuesday.
Bringing Rivian’s driving software to Europe would first require deploying expert drivers there, Senior Vice President of Autonomy and AI James Philbin said in September.
A Small Footprint
Rivian sells passenger vehicles only in the US and Canada and has no dealer, service or parts network in Europe.
Its regional entity, Rivian Europe B.V., was set up in Amsterdam in 2020.
Its European presence consists mainly of more than 300 electric delivery vans operated by Amazon since 2023, mobile technicians in Munich who service them, and software offices in London, Belgrade and Lund.
An R1T carrying a roof-mounted sensor array and Dutch plates was spotted mapping roads in Italy in July.
Rivian’s micromobility spin-off Also has begun surveying potential customers in Europe for an e-bike it is designing for the region.
Through Volkswagen First
Rivian’s technology is set to reach Europe through Volkswagen before its own cars do.
Volkswagen expects to launch its first vehicle with the zonal electrical architecture and software developed with Rivian next year, the ID.1, Newcom said.
Volkswagen plans to build the ID.1, an entry-level EV, at its Autoeuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal, from 2027, electrivereported.
“If we execute with them, that is the best signpost as we think about potentially working with other OEMs over the medium to longer term,” Newcom said.
