The construction of a supplier park is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 in addition to the already underway expansion of the manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois. Rivian claims that the supplier park will be a “key enabler” to its operations as it begins manufacture of the R2 van.
Rivian, an EV-only OEM based in the US, has announced construction of a supplier park as a move to reduce supply chain costs and improve efficiency.
The supplier park – which will be located a short distance from the main manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois – is expected to host several of the company’s key suppliers. The goal of co-locating suppliers is to drastically reduce the timelines and costs associated with logistics, especially shipping and warehousing. Nearshoring of the production, including parts and materials associated with its EVs, will also help improve the resilience of Rivian’s supply chain through domestic production, as well as the speed at which units can be produced.
Rivian founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, stated that the supplier park will be a “key enabler” in increasing the plant’s output in 2026 as product lines diversify. “In 2026… we start to build R2 in addition to R1 and our commercial vans,” Scaringe shared.
Rivian hopes that the new supplier park, which the company has invested nearly $120m, will also boost employment in the region, with current estimates suggesting that approximately 100 internal jobs will be created, as well as several hundred external and/or supplier jobs. This estimation runs past the construction of the site and continues into its operation, as the company plan for its suppliers to begin the manufacturing process. Light assembly will occur at the park, with suppliers kitting and sequencing parts, before units are transferred to the manufacturing plant through an underground tunnel – which will also be built as part of the project.
The main manufacturing plant is currently where all Rivian EVs are built, and it too has received significant investment recently. Plans to expand the plant are already underway, adding an additional 1 million sq.ft of floor space. Rivian’s next generation R2 EV is slated to begin next year ahead of its launch in 2027, and the company claims that both investments are poised to help maximise production.
Recent nearshoring in the US EV supply chain
Despite the year beginning with high levels of uncertainty surrounding EV markets in the US, following announcements by President Trump, automakers have continued to invest in improving their US-related EV logistics.
The investment from Rivian is the latest in a series of moves by automakers to near- or reshore significant portions of their EV value chain or make significant efforts to domesticate parts of production. GM, for example, has invested in improving its digital infrastructure across the US to counter the associated challenges of transporting EVs – as discussed by Amy Paulsen, director of finished vehicle logistics, in her Red Sofa interview at Finished Vehicle Logistics North America earlier this year. Non-US OEMs are also taking significant steps to localise their US production, with Hyundai investing $5.54bn into the company’s sole EV-dedicated plant in Bryan County, Georgia.
For more expert insights into nearshoring and domestic production in the US, including discussions into how EVs are causing OEMs to adjust their approaches, there is no better place to start than the 2025 Finished Vehicle Logistics North America conference recap blog.
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