Fire at Rivian's Illinois plant damages multiple EVs, no injuries reported

(Reuters) - A fire broke out at a parking lot at Rivian Automotive’s manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois late on Saturday damaging many of its electric vehicles, the U.S. startup said on Sunday.

There were no reports of injuries and the cause of the fire was being investigated, a company spokesperson told Reuters.    The fire was at a parking lot on the north side of the four-million-square-foot factory, located 130 miles (209 km) south of Chicago, and the assembly plant was unaffected, the Normal Fire Department said in a statement to Reuters.

Rivian did not confirm the number and type of vehicles affected.    Rivian, known for its R1S SUVs and R1T pickups, is expanding the Normal plant to produce its smaller, less expensive R2 SUVs that are expected to roll out in 2026 and seen as critical to its success.    The company this year shut the plant down for three weeks for a major retooling that is meant to simplify manufacturing and slash costs.    The EV maker produces all its vehicles at the factory in Normal, with a second assembly plant planned in Georgia.    Last week, it temporarily suspended production of its commercial delivery vans used by retail giant Amazon.com due to a shortage of parts but expects to recover all missed production.

(Reporting by Abhirup Roy and Urvi Dugar; editing by Diane Craft)