Electric Vehicles

Ameren Illinois says it plans to help build out a network of public electric vehicle charging stations, including some in Rivian’s backyard here in central Illinois.

The retail giant Amazon announced Thursday it plans to buy 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian as part of a larger effort to reduce its carbon footprint.

The shift from gas-powered to electric vehicles will accelerate in the next five years as the number of available EV models grows rapidly—including more SUVs and crossovers—and a fast-charging infrastructure is built out, according to an EV expert.

Ford plans to invest $500 million in Rivian and use the electric vehicle startup’s skateboard platform to build a new battery-powered vehicle, the companies announced Wednesday.

The Town of Normal is considering an electric scooter program.

Illinois lawmakers are among those stakeholders trying to figure out how to best position the state to get economic opportunities, but also how to take a common sense approach to regulation, and public safety while moving toward people sharing the road with autonomous vehicles.

State Representative Tom Demmer (R) represents the 90th district in north central Illinois. He's a co sponsor of the early legislation already made law on this topic. Demmer said the debate is not particularly partisan, but it IS complicated.

Bloomington-Normal residents won’t have to wait very long after the LA Auto Show to see Rivian’s first two vehicles firsthand—or to shop for one.

The electric vehicle startup Rivian continued to emerge from its “extreme stealth” mode Tuesday, revealing its “skateboard” chassis and a timeline for when its first truck will be available for pre-order. 

When Rivian Automotive bought the shuttered Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal, the company’s mystique was part of the excitement. Who was this MIT grad who wants to build electric vehicles here? What will the cars look like? Will it be like Tesla?