Rivian applies for federal loan to restart Georgia EV factory construction

(Reuters) -Rivian Automotive has applied for a federal loan to enable the construction of its electric vehicle factory in Georgia, according to a filing by the U.S. Department of Energy.

While Rivian has applied for a loan, the department has not made a final decision and the filing did not disclose the requested amount or terms.

The facility is scheduled to begin partial operations in the third quarter of 2027, with the first production capacity block reaching full operation in 2028, the filing said.

Rivian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The EV maker had paused construction of its planned $5 billion factory in Georgia to prioritize speeding up the production of vehicles on the R2 midsize platform and conserving cash.

Aiming to save $2.25 billion and speed up production, Rivian shifted the manufacturing of its R2 midsize SUV — set to compete with Tesla's Model Y — to its Illinois factory, with production slated to begin in 2026.

Rivian had received $827 million in an incentive package from the State of Illinois to expand operations at its Normal facility, where it also makes electric delivery vans for Amazon.com.

In 2022, the EV maker had secured a $1.5 billion in state and local incentives for the Georgia facility.

Earlier in the day, the Amazon-backed EV firm lowered its annual production forecast and missed third-quarter deliveries expectations due to a parts shortage and a slowdown in EV demand.

At the end of June, Rivian had cash and cash equivalents of $5.76 billion and a long-term debt of $5.53 billion.

In June, the German automaker Volkswagen said it would invest $5 billion in Rivian as part of a new joint venture to share EV architecture and software.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)