A British electric vehicle company is rooted in the US and intends to adopt its new global production concept as demand for new mobility systems increases.
The arrival, which is developing vans and electric buses, announced last week that it will build a second microfactory in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company plans to assemble vehicles there for a fleet order from United Parcel Service starting in the second half of 2022.
President Avinash Rugoobur told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday that vertically integrated microfactories require less space and capital investment than traditional production units.
“We are partnering with Charlotte to produce an entire transportation ecosystem together,” he said in a Mad Money interview. “When you look at the global scale that needs to become electric, we expect to have microfactories, you know, all over the world.”
Arrival is investing more than $ 41 million in the Charlotte facility, where its US headquarters are located.
The company intends to go public through an unverified merger with Ciig Merger and expects to hire more than 250 employees on the site. This is in addition to the 650 jobs he said he would bring to the area as part of the corporate offices he announced in December.
The arrival says it has a mission to accelerate the transition to zero-emission commercial vehicles. The company claims a competitive advantage by designing its own batteries and other components indoors and writing its own software, Rugoobur said.
“What’s interesting about the microfactory is that you can use the existing warehouses and turn them into production facilities,” Rugoobur said.
UPS placed an order with Arrival almost a year ago for 10,000 Generation 2 electric vehicles as part of the maritime giant’s move to electrify its delivery van fleet. The delivery company took a stake in Arrival at the same time.
Electric vehicles are expected to hit the streets in the next four years.