By Heart of Illinois ABC

NORMAL – Rivian, now producing electric pickup trucks in Normal, is releasing key details of its operations ahead of an initial public offering of company stock.

Rivian said it has received 48,390 preorders of its R1T pickups and R1S sport utility vehicles from U.S. and Canadian customers who’ve made a fully refundable $1,000 deposit. The vehicles’ price range is from almost $65,000 to nearly $68,000, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The electric automaker also reported losing $1 billion in 2020.

“We believe that we will continue to incur operating and net losses in the future while we grow,” the company said.

“We do not expect to be profitable for the foreseeable future as we invest in our business, build capacity and ramp up operations, and we cannot assure you that we will ever achieve or be able to maintain profitability in the future,” Rivian also said.

Production of pickup trucks started in September at Rivian’s plant in Normal, and the company intends to begin commercial production of SUVs and electric delivery vehicles this December. Rivian plans to fill Amazon’s order for 100,000 delivery vehicles by 2025.

The factory in Normal currently has an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, according to Rivian. That capacity is expected to increase to 200,000 vehicles by 2023, the automaker said.

“We expect vehicle demand to outpace our production volumes in the near-term as we work to fulfill customer preorders and continue to add to our backlog of preorders,” the company said.

Rivian said decisions and investments made so far are meant to meet long-term objectives.

“Our goal is to build Rivian into one of the most recognizable brands in the world,” the company said.

Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected].