EV Notes: Rivian, Freyr and Polestar Leaders Face Big Market Changes

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s re-election, the electric vehicle industry is in a unique spot. On one hand, one of Trump’s closest confidants, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is pro-EVs, but Trump himself has also issued executive orders to “end EV mandates” as well as paused funding for EV chargers. As EV-related companies begin to report their fourth quarter and full year earnings for 2024, here’s what company leaders are saying about the state of things.

That’s Rivian’s Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid speaking of the attention Rivian’s technology-focused joint venture with Volkswagen Group has gained. The $5.8 billion deal was announced last summer and finalized in November 2024. Although still in its infancy, other automakers are seemingly already interested in what it could bring.

While Bensaid declined to specify which OEMs has expressed interest, it’s clear where it comes from: Rivian’s existing architecture is significantly simpler than many of its’ competitors, which reduces vehicle weight and streamlines the manufacturing process, something executives have been focused on for the past few years.

But, interested parties will have to wait, as Bensaid indicated the company’s priority is rolling out the R2 SUV and getting its technology into VW vehicles.

Freyr CEO Daniel Barcelo said he and his team “look forward” to building teams in Austin and the Dallas-suburb Wilmer during an announcement that they had selected Austin as the site for their new, global corporate headquarters.

The state capitol, which Barcelo called a “vibrant and fast-growing hub” of renewable energy, is strategically located near Freyr’s existing solar module manufacturing facility in Wilmer—well, close by Texas standards. Wilmer is about a three-hour drive from Austin, assuming you can get through Austin traffic in less than three hours.

The company bought the Wilmer plant from Trina Solar in December 2024 as a way to establish Freyr’s solar manufacturing footprint. Executives said they plan to build a solar cell manufacturing facility as well; the project is still in the site selection phase but construction is expected to begin in Q2 2025.

While the move is great for Texas, it came just after Freyr dealt a blow to Coweta County, Georgia, by canceling its plans to build a $2.5 billion battery factory in the area. First announced in 2022, the 368-acre site would have been Freyr’s first American facility, adding more than 700 jobs to the metro Atlanta area over seven years.

“We are focusing at the moment on the solar module manufacturing facility in Texas,” a Freyr spokesperson said.

Freyr briefly addressed the situation in the relocation announcement, saying they had sold the Coweta site for $50 million in a deal that is expected to close on Feb. 15. After repaying state and local grants received on the promise of building the factory, Freyr will take home roughly $22 million.

This one is from Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller, speaking about the significant tariffs President Trump has threatened on a number of countries, namely China, Canada and Mexico. While deals were brokered that temporarily paused the 25% tariffs from going into effect on the latter two, imports from China have been slapped with a 10% duty.

For Volvo-owned Polestar, which has facilities in the United States and China, not to mention Volvo being owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Lohscheller said it was “very important” that they manufacture locally in the U.S.

“Obviously, the tariff is something we take very serious, and it could potentially create some headwinds,” he said.

Last month, Polestar released its first business update since October 2024, where executives discussed the company’s financial position and 2025 targets. While new vehicles launches are planned for this year, Polestar leaders pulled back on cash flow targets and emphasized cost reduction.

Rivian senior executive Tom Solomon expressed the team’s excitement at announcing the sale of Rivian’s commercial delivery vans to anyone that wants them, “whether they want one or thousands.”

Until recently, the electric delivery vans (EDVs) were part of an exclusive deal between Rivian and Amazon. The deal reached its end last year, and since then Rivian has been trialing vans in larger fleet sizes and preparing for the mass market. According to Rivian, Amazon’s more than 20,000 EDVs delivered more than 1 billion packages in 2024.

The van comes in two sizes and features Rivian’s in-house software that can control everything from unlocking and opening the door to charging and acceleration, as well as a host of safety features such as collision warnings and automatic emergency braking.

The news also comes on the heels of Rivian closing its $6.5 billion DOE loan in January that will allow it to restart construction at its Georgia plant. The construction phase, slated to begin in 2026, is expected to bring 2,000 full-time jobs to the area and has already begun hiring. Production at the nine-million square-foot facility is targeted for 2028 and will be largely comprised of Rivian’s upcoming R2 SUV and R3 crossover.