Rivian’s Executive Vice President of Manufacturing, Charly Mwangi, will reportedly be leaving the company. Mwangi joined Rivian in May of 2020 after almost two decades of engineering experience with automakers including Toyota, Nissan, and Tesla.
Mwangi has led Rivian through the releases of its R1S SUV and its R1T pickup truck.
Mwangi’s successor will be Frank Klein, who will serve as Rivian’s Chief Operating Officer and will report to Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe. Klein most recently served as the President of Magna International subsidiary Magna Steyr.
Rivian is also facing scrutiny for the risk of its EV batteries catching on fire, as fire crews were dispatched to the automaker’s Normal, Illinois manufacturing plant this weekend after a battery pack reportedly overheated and caught on fire. The automaker said this weekend’s fire did not damage any vehicles or other equipment, but did not immediately announce the results of an investigation regarding the cause of the fire.
The fire was the third at the facility in the past seven months.
Rivian also seems to be looking to restructure, as a letter to employees from Scaringe said, “This is an important time for our growing business, all in an extremely challenging environment” and that the company “need[s] to continually evaluate” the way it operates. The restructuring may include separating Rivian’s consumer business and its commercial business.
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