Vučić: "Star Trek" has arrived in Serbia; "I'm used to the gearbox" PHOTO/VIDEO

Vučić: "Star Trek" has arrived in Serbia; "I'm used to the gearbox" PHOTO/VIDEO

The representative of the company showed President Vučić a model of the vehicle, and because of the size of the trunk, which is located in the front part of the vehicle, he joked that it could also serve as a pool for children.

He also stated that it is very important for our country that such a company has come and that he cannot hide his happiness.

"This is what I live for. I am happy when such things happen in our country," commented Vučić briefly during the tour.

"I'm an old school, I'm used to gearshift," he joked.

President Vučić addressed the public and pointed out that the arrival of the Rivian company is of great importance for our country and that the "star trek" have arrived in Serbia, considering that one of the most innovative companies in the world for e-vehicles has arrived:

"We have been working on this for at least a year and a half. This arrival is very significant for us. Rivian is the most innovative company in the whole world when it comes to electric vehicles. We brought the best from the world to Serbia - Serbia is the only one that succeeded. Besides the USA and Canada, they opened a center only in Serbia. No one else in Europe can boast of that," said Vučić.

What kind of cars does Rivian make, which is opening a technology center in Belgrade today

"It is something you live for and fight for. Young people will stay in this country to live and work. Now we will work on expanding the capacity of technical faculties in Serbia. We will need more people. Now it can be seen that we have done well when we started with dual education," he added.

He also noted that this year we will significantly exceed 1.3 - 1.4 billion dollars in trade with the USA.

"That's significantly more than in previous years, and that's good news for us," he said.

Vučić added that he previously thought when NCR came to Serbia, which employs 5.000 people in our country, that it was the end.

"Now I see that investments continue. I hope that this is just the beginning, the first stage," he said.

He informed that Rivian will employ around 500 people in Belgrade and Novi Sad and that he hopes that this is just the beginning.

About Rivian

The opening is also attended by the Minister of Science Jelena Begović, vice president of the talent acquisition company Cindy Nicola and senior vice president for software development Wassym Bensaid, as well as the U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill.

The company announced that several hundred applications for jobs in the center in Belgrade have been received so far, of which the most interest was for jobs in mapping, infotainment, ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) and IT services.

They stated that the first employees started working in the previous days, as well as that Rivian will expand its team in Belgrade in the coming weeks and months.

Rivian, as previously announced, will open 200 jobs for engineers before the end of this year, and then 1.000 jobs.

California-based Rivian, known for the production of electric pickup trucks and SUVs, officially announced in September that it is opening its R&D center in Belgrade with the intention of hiring local technical staff and engineers from the automotive industry.

As previously announced, the company will operate in Serbia under the name Rivian SE Europe d.o.o. Belgrade.

The company Rivian was founded in 2009 and deals with the design and production of electric vehicles.

The first vehicle models are the R1T, a "pick-up truck" with two rows of seats for five passengers, which was declared the best vehicle in its category, as well as the R1S, an SUV with three rows of seats for seven passengers.

As the media reported, these vehicles are a combination of excellent performance, utility value and efficiency.

R1T and R1S vehicles are equipped with advanced technology systems, including vehicle electronics, battery, electric drive, chassis, Driver+ advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) and digital steering.