By Abhirup Roy

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Rivian’s head of manufacturing is leaving the electric vehicle startup to join Stellantis at a time when the maker of Jeep SUVs and Ram pickups is preparing to launch a number of battery powered cars.

Tim Fallon will join Stellantis as its head of manufacturing in North America effective Sept 2, Stellantis said in a statement.

Rivian, known for its R1S SUVs and R1T pickups, appointed its head of logistics Carlo Materazzo, a former Stellantis executive, to oversee production in the interim, CEO RJ Scaringe said in an internal email seen by Reuters.

Fallon’s exit comes at a crucial time for Rivian, which is expanding its only facility in Normal, Illinois to produce the smaller and less expensive R2 SUV that many analysts see as critical to the startup’s success amid a slowdown in demand for EVs.

Fallon, a former Nissan executive, oversaw a manufacturing plant overhaul this year at Rivian, which included a three-week shutdown of the Normal plant, meant to simplify production and slash costs. His move also comes weeks after Volvo veteran Javier Varela joined Rivian as its operations chief.

We’ve had different leaders as we approach different levels of scaling our business,” a Rivian spokesperson said, confirming Fallon’s exit. “We’re positioning the organization structure for the future.”

Fallon joins Stellantis “as we enter this critical stage of our transformation … with this year marking the start of our electric vehicle offensive,” Carlos Zarlenga, its chief operating officer for North America, said.

The American-French-Italian automaker aims to roll-out 25 EV models in the U.S. by 2030. The company plans to soon launch a Jeep EV model in the U.S. costing less than $25,000, its CEO said this year.

(Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Nora Eckert; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)