Rivian revealed its much anticipated downsized R2 electric SUV Thursday, with a few big surprises.

In order to get the R2 to market more quickly, Rivian will begin building its second-generation EVs at its plant in Normal, where the inaugural full-sized R1 line has been in production since 2021. Meanwhile, plans to construct a $5 billion Georgia plant to build the R2 are “delayed,” a company spokesperson said Thursday.

The accelerated target for the R2 rolling off the Normal line will be the first half of 2026, Rivian CEO and founder R.J. Scaringe announced during the live online unveil.

“We’ve been working hard to find ways to pull the timing on these programs forward, to get them to as many people as possible as quickly as possible,” Scaringe said. “We’re able to achieve that accelerated timing by leveraging our production capabilities in Normal, using our Illinois site to launch R2 and get that into market as quickly as we can.”

In addition to the downsized R2, Rivian introduced an even smaller R3 and souped-up R3X crossover, hoping to capture a larger share of the nascent EV market. The production timing and location for the R3 has yet to be announced.

The R2 is about 15 inches shorter than the full-sized R1S SUV. It also costs significantly less, starting at $45,000, versus the $70,000 starting price for the R1.

Rivian was set to break ground this year at the planned Georgia plant, hoping to begin production of the R2 in 2026. Instead, the downsized SUV will initially be produced in Normal, but Rivian remains committed to building the Georgia plant, Scaringe said.

“Our Georgia site remains really important to us, it’s core to the scaling across all these vehicles, between R2, R3, R3X,” Scaringe said.

Timing for the launch of the Georgia plant will be pushed back to focus on “the capital efficient launch of R2 in Normal,” the company said Thursday.

Rivian began production in September 2021 and builds its electric R1T pickup truck, R1S SUV and commercial delivery vans for Amazon and AT&T in a renovated 3.3 million-square-foot auto plant about 130 miles south of Chicago.

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