At a time when the manufacturer of Jeep SUVs and Ram pickup trucks is getting ready to introduce a number of battery-powered automobiles, Rivian’s head of manufacturing is leaving the electric vehicle startup to join Stellantis.
With effect from September 2, Tim Fallon will become the head of manufacturing for Stellantis in North America, the company announced in a statement.
Rivian, which is well-known for its R1S SUVs and R1T pickups, has appointed Carlo Materazzo, a former Stellantis executive, to supervise logistics and oversee production in the interim, according to an internal email obtained by Reuters and signed by CEO RJ Scaringe.
Fallon’s departure coincides with a pivotal moment for Rivian, as the business is growing its single plant in Normal, Illinois, to manufacture the more affordable and smaller R2 SUV, which many observers believe is essential to its survival in the face of a decline in EV demand.
This year at Rivian, Fallon, a former Nissan executive, managed a manufacturing facility makeover that included a three-week shutdown of the Normal plant with the goal of streamlining production and cutting expenses. Weeks after Javier Varela, a former employee of Volvo, joined Rivian as its operations chief, he too made a transfer.
“We’ve had different leaders as we approach different levels of scaling our business,” a Rivian spokeswoman confirmed Fallon’s departure. “We’re positioning the organization structure for the future.”
Fallon becomes part of Stellantis “as we enter this critical stage of our transformation … with this year marking the start of our electric vehicle offensive,” according to the company’s chief operating officer for North America, Carlos Zarlenga.
By 2030, the French-Italian-American carmaker plans to introduce 25 electric vehicles to the American market. According to its CEO this year, the company intends to shortly introduce a Jeep EV vehicle that would cost less than $25,000 in the US.