Rivian

Rivian is an American electric vehicle maker headquartered in Irvine, California, with its main production plant in Normal, Illinois, occupying the former Mitsubishi Motors site. The lineup centers on a single in-house skateboard architecture: a flat battery-and-drive unit that the cabin sits on top of, used across the R1T pickup, the R1S three-row SUV, and the Electric Delivery Vans built for Amazon. A second mid-size platform, developed for higher-volume vehicles, underpins the smaller R2 SUV, the R3 hatch, and the sportier R3X variant. R2 customer production began at the Normal plant ahead of first deliveries in 2026, marking the company's transition from a low-volume premium brand toward mainstream pricing. The R1 line went through a Gen-2 refresh in 2024 that brought in new electronics, zonal architecture, and updated drive units. RJ Scaringe founded the company in 2009 after completing a doctorate at MIT.