Rivian is applying for a federal loan to restart construction of its Georgia EV factory

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

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

The facility is expected to be partially commissioned in the third quarter of 2027, with the first production capacity block fully operational in 2028, the filing said.

Rivian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The EV maker had halted construction of its planned $5 billion factory in Georgia to prioritize accelerating production of vehicles on the mid-size R2 platform and saving money.

Aiming to save $2.25 billion and speed up production, Rivian moved production of its R2 midsize SUV – which would compete with Tesla’s Model Y – to the Illinois factory, with production scheduled to begin in 2026.

Rivian had received $827 million in an incentive package from the state of Illinois to expand operations at its Normal plant, where it also makes electric vans for Amazon.com.

By 2022, the EV maker had secured $1.5 billion in state and local incentives for the Georgia facility.

Earlier in the day, the Amazon-backed EV company cut its annual production forecast and missed third-quarter delivery expectations due to a parts shortage and a slowdown in electric vehicle demand.

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)