British EV maker Arrival opens micro factory manufacturing plant

Electric vehicle manufacturer Arrival has acquired a new production facility. agreeing a 15-year lease on the 120,600 sq ft space in Oxfordshire, UK.

Glenn Saint, Chief of Commercial Vehicles at Arrival commented: “Arrival is revolutionising electric vehicles with our Generation 2 solution that means customers can buy a purpose-built electric vehicle for the same price or less than a petrol or diesel equivalent. Critical to making this possible is manufacturing in microfactories which can serve the local community and respond rapidly to local demand.”

Arrival has secured a £90mn investment from South Korean car firms Kia and Hyundai to fund the next stage of its development. Founded in 2015, the company’s £3bn valuation has seen it achieve unicorn status (a new company valued at more than $1bn).

UPS has also invested in arrival with an order for 10,000 bespoke Generation 2 EVs, capable of delivering a 50% operational cost savings for fleet owners, to accelerate its transition to a zero emissions fleet. The initial order will be rolled out over 2020-2024 with the option for a further order of 10,000.

“UPS has been a strong strategic partner of Arrival, providing valuable insight to how electric delivery vans are used on the road and how they can be optimised for drivers,” said Denis Sverdlov, Founder & CEO at Arrival.

“Together our teams have been creating bespoke electric vehicles, based on our flexible skateboard platforms, that meet the end-to-end needs of UPS from driving, loading/unloading, depot and back office operations. We are pleased that today’s investment and vehicle order creates even closer ties between our two companies.”

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Arrival has developed components, sustainable materials and software to customise both vehicles and operations of commercial fleet owners. The company’s unique skateboard platforms enable the creation of vehicles in any weight, type, size and shape to match customer requirements, which are then deployed close to areas of demand across the globe in Arrival’s microfactories.

Avinash Rugoobur, Chief Strategy Officer at Arrival stated: “Arrival has created Generation 2 electric vehicles that are better in price, design and experience than traditional fossil fuel vehicles and existing EVs. This gives fleet managers a highly compelling commercial and environmental reason to switch to electric and will accelerate the adoption of electric technology globally. At Arrival, we believe this is amongst the most impactful areas to start the transition to a fully electric future, and our partnership with UPS will drive us both towards our shared vision of cleaner mobility.”