Rivian seems to be working on plans for a distribution center in the Netherlands. That concludes The Financial Times based on recently posted vacancies at the American EV builder. It is not yet clear whether this will jeopardize a possible deal with VDL Nedcar.
One of Rivian’s vacancies describes that the company is looking for a ‘Continuous Improvement Specialist’ who will work at the ‘Distribution Center in NL’. In addition, Rivian also has vacancies for a warehouse supervisor and inventory manager. It therefore appears that the plans for a Dutch distribution center are already at a fairly concrete stage. It is not yet known where that distribution center will be located. According to car analyst Matthias Schmidt, the vacancy texts may indicate that Rivian first only wants to do the final assembly in the Netherlands instead of the entire production.
This would mean that Rivian would use a similar model as Tesla, which produced its cars in America in the past and did the final assembly in Tilburg. In this way, the brand avoided import tariffs for fully completed vehicles. In March of last year, Tesla announced that it would stop doing so.
If Rivian also works in this way, it may have negative consequences for the VDL Nedcar car factory in Born in Limburg. The company is in discussion with Rivian about setting up a Dutch production line. VDL Nedcar was previously in talks with the American start-up Canoo, but that deal fell through. It cannot be hoped for VDL Nedcar that the same will now happen to Rivian, because there is a rush in Born. In 2023, BMW will stop Dutch production of the X1 and the Mini Countryman. VDL Nedcar expects to be able to provide clarity this quarter about the possible production for Rivian.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl