Rivian is applying for a federal loan to restart construction on its Georgia electric vehicle plant

(Reuters) – Rivian Automotive has applied for a federal loan to help build its electric vehicle plant in Georgia, according to a U.S. Department of Energy filing.

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

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

Rivian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The electric vehicle maker has halted construction of its planned $5 billion plant in Georgia to prioritize speeding up production of vehicles on the R2 midsize platform and conserving cash.

Aiming to save $2.25 billion and speed up production, Rivian has moved production of its R2 midsize SUV — which will compete with Tesla’s Model Y — to its Illinois plant, with production slated to begin in 2026.

Rivian 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.

Through 2022, the electric vehicle maker has secured $1.5 billion in state and local incentives for the Georgia facility.

Earlier in the day, the Amazon-backed electric vehicle firm cut its annual production forecast and missed expectations for third-quarter deliveries due to parts shortages and slowing demand for electric vehicles.

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

In June, 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)