By Eric Stock
NORMAL – The company that plans to produce electric vehicles at the former Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal has secured a major investor and is offering the first details about what kind of vehicles it plans to build.
New York City-based Sumitomo Corporation has announced it has made a strategic investment in Rivian Automotive. Terms were not disclosed.
Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council CEO Kyle Ham said having an investor with expertise in the automotive industry is a big boost for Rivian.
“Having this large scale global partner investing in Rivian, I think, proves Rivian is going everything they said they would do and they are performing at a high level and is really a vote of confidence for Rivian,” Ham said.
A news releases states Rivian plans to build an electric-powered five-passenger truck in 2020 followed by a seven-passenger SUV.
“There’s certainly a lot of rumors about what it is and they’ve been – as we’ve all said – in stealth mode for a period of time, but as they are start to talk about what they are doing and begin to unveil over a period of time, it will build excitment and mystique of what’s coming,” Ham said.
Eric Stock can be reached at eric.stock@cumulus.com.
