Arrival pauses bus & car development to focus on vans

According to insiders, the British electric vehicle start-up Arrival has put its bus and car project on hold. According to the report, Arrival wants to concentrate fully on the launch of its electric transporter for the time being in order to generate revenue.

This was reported by the Financial Times, citing three people familiar with the matter. Specifically, costs would be cut by a third if there were no more expenses on the two projects. Production of the electric transporter is due to start in the autumn.

The car project has also been paused, but could be revived later. The bus project has also been put on hold, going as far as postponing tests with the potential customer First Bus.

That the financial situation is tight had already become apparent in July. At that time Arrival had announced plans to reduce its workforce by a third in order to conserve dwindling cash. An internal review of projects and spending was also initiated at that time and was expected to be completed by September. The information now leaked by insiders is said to be preliminary results of that review.

Arrival declined to comment when asked by the Financial Times. However, the company will publish its half-year results next week. It is possible that there will be confirmation of the information at that time as well.

Arrival has been listed since a SPAC merger in March 2021. However, since the IPO, the company’s shares have lost more than 90 per cent of their value. This was not only due to the company’s performance, but also the global economic slowdown, rising interest rates and more volatile stock markets.

Arrival also had ambitious plans. Not only were they to develop an e-truck optimised for last-mile logistics, but they were also to be manufactured in a revolutionary way in local micro-factories – at least later, because the up to 10,000 e-trucks ordered by UPS are to be built in a large factory in Bicester. To these already extensive plans were added the electric bus plans and later the Arrival Car optimised for a ridehailing collaboration with Uber. At the end of 2021, it was said that the Arrival Car would go into production towards the end of 2023.

ft.com