Over 50 Rivian EVs Destroyed by Fire Outside of Factory
Over 50 Rivian vehicles were destroyed in a fire that broke out Saturday night at the electric vehicle company's factory in Normal, Illinois, according to photos from the scene and a local news report. No injuries were reported in the fire.
Witnesses reported seeing fire outside the Rivian factory shortly before 10 p.m. on Saturday night. The Normal Fire Department (NFD) responded and fought the blaze which was in a parking lot outside of the factory. NFD spokesperson Matt Swaney said that the fire was out by midnight on Sunday and that the EV factory was not damaged, according to 25 News Now.
There has been no official word on the number of vehicles damaged in the fire. However, aerial photos and video posted to a Rivian Facebook group show that about 50 to 60 vehicles were torched and appear to be a total loss. The damaged vehicles were cordoned off by box cars and barriers in the corner of the parking lot.
While some may be quick to jump to the conclusion that it was a damaged battery pack that caused the fire, there is still no official word on the cause. However, this is not the first Rivian vehicle fire reported. In July, several Rivian vans built for Amazon burned at an Amazon center in Houston, Texas. Rivian asserted that the high-voltage batteries were not the root cause of that fire.
Electric vehicle fires are rare but when they do occur, they can be more difficult to extinguish compared to gasoline fires.
The Rivian factory in Normal, Illinois currently manufactures the R1T and R1S models. Back in May, Rivian received over $800 million in state funding to expand the plant to manufacture their new midsize SUV model, the R2. Since 2021 Rivian has built over 100,000 EVs at this facility.
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