EVwire brief: Rivian is adding a night shift to its R2 production line. This suggests that the company is actively increasing its R2 output capacity as it moves toward the full-scale manufacturing of the midsize SUV.
The update was highlighted by R2 Group Leader Kyle Kindred on LinkedIn (emphasis ours).
“Over the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to support program startup across both design and manufacturing validation.. I’m looking forward to building on that experience as we ramp production on night shift and move closer to bringing R2 into a full-scale platform.”
Here’s Kyle’s actual post:
Rivian has previously outlined plans to scale R2 production to over 200,000 units annually through a flexible manufacturing system, with additional capacity planned at its future Georgia facility.
Rivian posted this short but cool video of the R2’s production earlier this year. It’s worth a watch:
Context:
The addition of a night shift is a standard step in increasing vehicle output without adding new production lines. It allows Rivian to extend operating hours and raise production as demand for the R2 builds up.
Rivian’s R2 production strategy is focused on scaling output at its existing Normal, Il plant before expanding to new facilities.
A graphic shared at 2024’s Investor Day event suggests that Rivian’s current setup will be able to support up to 215,000 units annually across multiple vehicle programs. From this number, about 155,000 is expected to be the R2.
Here’s the 2024 Investor Day graphic (Hat tip to Rivian watcher Chris Hilbert for sharing this on X):
Longer term, Rivian plans to expand production further through its Georgia plant, where additional lines are expected to support higher volumes following the R2 launch.
Rivian estimates that the Georgia plant’s two lines will be able to produce 400,000 vehicles annually.
Those vehicles will be split between the R2, R3, and R3X, however.
Rivian is producing R2 validation builds at its Normal, Il plant
Rivian has maintained a positive stance on the R2’s demand
Rivian has consistently pointed to strong demand for the R2 while choosing not to disclose updated reservation totals.
Following the vehicle’s reveal in March 2024, CEO RJ Scaringe said the company received more than 68,000 reservations within the first 24 hours. Rivian has not provided updated figures since, but comments from company executives suggest that demand is healthy.
As the R2 entered production earlier this month, Scaringe said the company is “really excited” to be producing the vehicle.
CFO Claire McDonough also noted Rivian has been “encouraged” by the R2’s reservation trends, though she also stated that she expects “better visibility” once customers begin configuring vehicles.
Rivian is expected to open the R2 for configuration sometime in June.
Source: Kyle Kindred on LinkedIn
DON’T FORGET to subscribe to our EV industry newsletter to join 14,000+ EV geeks. You can also check out our biweekly Robotaxi Report, where we dig deep (and we mean really deep) into the nascent robotaxi market.
