Amazon-backed Rivian in talks with ministers over UK factory -Sky News

[July 31, 2021]    (Reuters) -Amazon.com Inc-backed electric vehicle start-up Rivian Automotive is in talks with ministers about building a factory in the UK that could include a big state support package, Sky News reported on Saturday.

The logo for electric vehicle startup Rivian is seen on the hood of its new R1T all-electric truck in Mill Valley, California, U.S., January 25, 2020. REUTERS/Nathan Frandino

The company, which is also backed by Ford Motor Co, has been in negotiations with the British government for weeks about the construction of a plant near Bristol, the report https://bit.ly/3zT7Ron added.

The talks are not yet at an advanced stage but any investment decision would likely be worth well over 1 billion pounds ($1.39 billion), the report said, citing sources.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) declined to comment on "individual investments".

In an emailed statement to Reuters, BEIS said: "While we are working to attract inward investment into the UK to accelerate the growth of new industries, we cannot comment on speculation about individual investments."

Rivian, seen as a potential rival to Tesla Inc, said this month it expects to begin first deliveries of its R1T pick-up truck in September and its R1S SUV in the autumn.

($1 = 0.7191 pounds)

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; additional reporting by William Schomberg and Vishal Vivek; editing by Jason Neely)

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.