Source: Gasgoo
Electric car maker Rivian has hired former Volvo Cars executive Javier Varela as its chief operating officer to help the company expand production while it prepares to launch low-cost models for the mass market.
According to a statement of Rivian on May 3, the former chief operating officer and deputy chief executive officer of Volvo Cars will join Rivian in August. He will replace Frank Klein, who is stepping down after two years as Rivian’s chief operating officer.
Varela will be responsible for Rivian’s operations, purchasing, production and logistics. He will also help the company meet its gross profit target in the fourth quarter of this year. Rivian has been struggling with low production, declining inventory and volatile consumer demand in an increasingly competitive electric vehicle market.
Image source: Rivian
At Volvo, Varela was responsible for research and development, manufacturing, procurement, supply chain and quality. He played a key role in the opening of Volvo’s US plant in 2018, the €1.2 billion investment in a new European manufacturing facility in Kosice, Slovakia, and the conversion of large aluminium bodies to one-piece casting.
California-based Rivian, which is supported by famous investors including Amazon, is the largest independent pure electric vehicle maker in the United States after Tesla.
In March, Rivian surprised investors with its decision to delay plans for a new plant in Georgia and move production of its first affordable model, the R2, to an existing plant in Normal, Illinois. Rivian revealed on May 2 that it had received a subsidy worth $827 million from the state of Illinois to expand the plant.
