SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 20 (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.)