Rivian to produce a million EVs a year by 2030

The founder and chief executive of flourishing American electric vehicle new-comer Rivian, RJ Scaringe, has set some ambitious goals for his burgeoning EV company, including production capacity for at least a million vehicles per annum via four global assembly plants by 2030.

According to a report by Reuters, Scaringe is hoping to hit the million vehicles per annum production milestone by 2030 at the latest – a feat that would mark a 567 per cent increase on current levels given Rivian’s one and only assembly plant in Illinois has an annual capacity of 150,000.

The secret to this drastic increase will be the establishment of a second facility within the US and at least one in Europe and China respectively. Capacity at Rivian’s current plant is also expected to be upped to 200,000 units per annum by 2023 as more models are added to the brand’s portfolio.

“We better be growing at least that quick; certainly before the end of the decade is how we think about it,” Scaringe said.

The signs are certainly looking good given the inaugural Rivian R1T and R1S electric off-roaders are both reportedly sold out until well into 2023 and the fact the upstart brand was this week valued at more than $US100 billion ($A137.4b).

That was enough to make Rivian the second-most valuable US auto-maker behind Tesla, the value of which is now into the trillions of dollars, and to rank it among the six most valuable car-makers globally.

Clearly Tesla has taken note, however, with CEO Elon Musk taking to Twitter with some quick advice for the challenger brand before reminding the world of Tesla’s stop spot.

“I hope they’re able to achieve high production and breakeven cash flow. That is the true test,” he said.

“There have been hundreds of automotive startups, both electric and combustion, but Tesla is the only American carmaker to reach high volume production and positive cash flow in past 100 years.”

Between now and 2025, Rivian is set to produce around 100,000 battery-electric delivery vans for its biggest shareholder, Amazon (20%), which will hold onto the rights for the model for another two years.

But Scaringe has seemingly planned ahead and prepped the production line in question for expansion following the conclusion of the contract.

“We’ve designed the line to have head room above and beyond Amazon's needs,” he said.

“That’s what allows us to go into some of these other spaces within the commercial van space.” As we’ve reported, Rivian has confirmed it will enter the Australian market, but that’s unlikely to happen before 2024 due to its initial focus on the US, Chinese and European markets.