Rivian is opening a manufacturing and distribution center in Torrance, The Real Deal has learned.
The Irvine-based electric vehicle maker, which specializes in trucks, signed a lease for a 135,000-square-foot at 2700 California Street earlier this year, according to public property records filed with L.A. County.
Staley Point Capital bought the site in June 2021 for $34.5 million, with plans to build a new industrial complex and adjacent office space, records show. In December, the firm obtained $32.5 million in construction financing for the complex from Western Alliance Bank.
A spokesperson for Rivian confirmed the lease, adding it will be used by the company’s electric vehicle propulsion team — a segment that builds energy-storage and power-conversion systems for Rivian’s electric vehicles. The company will also use offices at the complex as lab space for hardware development. Rivian declined to comment on specific lease terms.
The property is still under construction, though Rivian declined to comment on when it expected the facility to open.
The lease was signed in February, just two months after Rivian went public at $78 per share. As of June 6, the company’s share price has dropped more than 60 percent to about $29 per share. Since November, the S&P 500 index has fallen about 12 percent.
Amazon — a large investor in Rivian — took a $7.6 billion write-down in the first quarter as the EV maker’s stock plunged. Rivian, which is yet to deliver vehicles in significant numbers currently facing supply chain issues and production issues, the company told shareholders earlier this year.
It’s currently expecting to produce 25,000 vehicles this year — about half of what it forecasted last year.
Despite its challenges, the company is moving forward with a number of distribution centers across the country. In January, the company signed a seven-year lease on a 327,000-square-foot distribution center in Louisville, Kentucky. In Illinois, the company is planning to add about 500,000 square feet to an existing warehouse in Normal.