UK automotive startup Arrival has been developing its own electric vehicles since 2015 and just has received a high profile boost, with Hyundai and Kia announcing a €100 million (US$110 million) investment aimed at ushering in the era of electric transportation.
Headquartered in London but with offices also in Germany, Holland, Russia and the US, Arrival is approaching EV development in a similar way to Tesla. Its software, components and skateboard chassis are all built in house, and rather than retrofitting EV parts to vehicles designed for internal combustion engines, its vehicles are described as being designed from a "blank sheet."
These vehicles will be "devices on wheels," according to Arrival, and are designed to be assembled in small footprint micro-factories and sold for the same price as ICE equivalents. And now it is ready to move out of its R&D phase and into full-scale production, with an immediate focus on commercial vehicles.
The new agreement with Kia and Hyundai will see South Korea's two largest automakers use Arrival's skateboard chassis and EV technologies to develop different kinds of commercial vehicles across different categories. Together, the trio hope to begin replacing the diesel-powered majority of commercial vehicles with more modern and cleaner alternatives.
“We are excited to come out of stealth mode with our partnership with Hyundai Motor Group, and our complementary expertise will allow us to rapidly design, build and roll out vehicles together," says Avinash Rugoobur, Arrival’s Chief Strategy Officer. "Accelerating electric vehicle adoption is good for everyone – for people, business and the planet and we are pleased to undertake this mission with our partners Hyundai and Kia.”
Source: Arrival
