Investing.com– Rivian said on Monday it had received conditional approval for a loan of up to $6.6 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy, which will likely go toward a planned factory in Georgia.
Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ 🙂 has received conditional approval from the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program, the electric vehicle maker said in a statement. The loan consists of a principal amount of $6 billion and $600 million dollars in capital interest.
The loan will offer more support for the company’s upcoming midsize platform, which consists of smaller, less expensive SUVs, including the R2 and R3 crossovers.
The midsize vehicles will be produced at the Georgia facility, where production is expected to begin as early as 2028. Rivian said it will build the facility in two phases, each providing annual production capacity of 200,000 units.
The electric vehicle maker is grappling with a liquidity crisis amid slow sales, disrupted production and rising expenses. It had halted construction of the Georgia plant earlier this year.
The DOE’s ATVM program has provided funding to several other major automakers, including its biggest electric vehicle rival, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:).
Tuesday’s announcement comes just days after Rivian secured a $5.8 billion investment from German automaker Volkswagen (ETR:), as the latter attempts to use Rivian’s technology to make its own electric vehicles.