- Rivian’s 1.1-million-square-foot factory expansion to build the R2 SUV is essentially complete, the company said on Tuesday.
- Rivian said it will start testing equipment on the new R2 line in the coming quarter.
- R2 production is on track, but Rivian now expects to lose more money this year.
Rivian on Tuesday said the sprawling factory addition that will house production of the upcoming $45,000 R2 crossover is essentially done.
“This quarter we made significant progress in R2 development and testing,” the EV startup’s CEO, RJ Scaringe, said in a statement. “We also substantially completed the expansion of our Normal, Illinois facility and have begun installing manufacturing equipment in preparation for our start of production.”
The 1.1-million-square-foot expansion will house the body shop and general assembly operations for the R2. Once the expanded Normal, Illinois, plant is up and running, it will have a production capacity of 215,000 EVs, Rivian has said.
The R2 crossover should arrive in 2026 as Rivian’s first true mainstream offering—a close Tesla Model Y competitor that can deliver the manufacturing scale that’s absolutely critical to a profitable auto business.
Rivian reported earnings on Tuesday, noting in its release that “preparations for the launch of R2 remain on track” and that it plans to start validating the new R2 line’s equipment and production processes in the third quarter. On the company’s earnings call on Tuesday, Scaringe said the EV is key to the company’s goal of building “millions” of vehicles per year.
Later on, Rivian plans to build the R2 at a new plant in Georgia. On Tuesday, Scaringe said it will start construction on that factory’s buildings in early 2026.
The R2 may be a sorely needed shot in the arm. The carmaker reported $1.3 billion in revenue and an adjusted loss of $667 million in the most recent quarter. Following two consecutive quarters of gross profits—meaning it made money on each vehicle sold, excluding fixed costs—gross profits went negative again in Q2.
Previously, Rivian said it expected a modest annual gross profit this year. Now it expects to roughly break even this year on a gross profit basis, the company’s CFO, Claire McDonough, said on Tuesday. Like other car companies, Rivian has been hit by wide-ranging tariffs and other shifting policies. McDonough said vehicle production took a hit in Q2 due to supply chain problems, driven in part by changing trade policies.
Due to “some of the recent changes associated with regulatory credits and its second quarter performance,” Rivian says it now expects to lose $2-2.25 billion this year, up from its previous guidance of $1.7-1.9 billion. Republicans in Congress have eliminated penalties under federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules, eliminating the need for polluting automakers to buy regulatory credits from EV makers like Rivian and Tesla.
Rivian expects its regulatory credit sales to dry up in the rest of 2025. McDonough said Rivian expects $160 million in regulatory credit sales this year, down from its previous projection of $300 million.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
Updated 5:20 pm with comments from Rivian’s earnings call.
Updated 5:45 pm with details on Georgia plant construction timeline.
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