Irvine-based Rivian Automotive Inc. is building a 1.2 million-square-foot supplier park, an investment worth almost $120 million, to support its existing manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois.  

The project, which will house a subset of the EV maker’s key suppliers for light assembly and manufacturing, is expected to be completed next year. The parts constructed at the park will be transported to the main plant via an underground tunnel to avoid increased traffic on local roads. 

“This will be a key enabler to increasing production at the plant in 2026 when we start to build R2 in addition to R1 and our commercial vans,” Founder and Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said in a statement. 

The relocated suppliers are anticipated to add nearly 100 direct Rivian jobs.  

“Rivian’s investment will attract suppliers from across the globe to invest in Illinois and continue to create good-paying jobs, providing Illinois with the competitive edge to thrive in the clean energy economy,” Governor JB Pritzker said.  

Rivian is also expanding the Normal manufacturing plant by 1.1 million square feet to make room for production of its incoming R2 vehicle. The automaker produced 49,476 vehicles in 2024 and expects to deliver between 46,000 and 51,000 vehicles in 2025.  

Shares were down 2% at $13.55 apiece by the end of Monday’s trading session with a market cap of more than $15 billion.