12/16/2023 0 Comments Ups preparing for delivery statusA third microfactory planned in South Carolina will start making buses at an unspecified later date. Multitasking robots should allow Arrival to produce relatively low volumes of highly customizable vans, buses and cars at facilities located close to where the vehicles will circulate.Īrrival expects to produce 400 to 600 total vans by year’s end at its microfactory in Bicester, England and a second facility being built in Charlotte, North Carolina. Compact vacuum molds will replace the large, expensive machines used to stamp and paint metal auto parts. The plastic panels are part of Arrival’s broader strategy to build vehicles inside 300, 000-square-foot “ microfactories,” rather than sprawling automotive assembly plants. “We’ve driven trucks over this thing, and it just pops back up,” Rugoobur said while passing around a sample of the feather-light material. Instead of steel or aluminum, the vehicle body is made of thermoplastic and glass fibers, which are woven together like fabric and shaped using a high-pressure vacuum mold. Knocking on the white van’s walls produces a hollow sound. Up front, a large touchscreen has replaced the dashboard, allowing drivers to track their routes and monitor the batteries’ charge levels.Īrrival's electric van prototype on display in New York City on Ma(Maria Gallucci/Canary Media) Modules beneath the floorboard, connected like Lego bricks, have a combined capacity of 111 kilowatt-hours - enough to travel about 180 miles on a single charge. Standing in the back of the van, in the narrow aisle between two empty shelves, Rugoobur held up a slim black box: one of Arrival’s battery modules, which contain LG Chem’s lithium-ion cells. The delivery van itself, which has a right-hand steering wheel, isn’t approved to drive on any roads just yet. The tall, snub-nosed vehicle came by cargo ship from England to the port of Charleston, South Carolina, where it hitched a ride on a northbound truck. I spoke with Rugoobur recently from inside of one of Arrival’s prototype vans, which rolled into New York City last week. The two companies are collaborating to design vans for drivers making dozens of daily stops, who are hauling ever-growing volumes of goods, said Avinash Rugoobur, Arrival’s president. Arrival plans to start producing the vehicles later this year in the United Kingdom and the United States. The British startup is partnering with UPS, which has placed an order for 10, 000 of the company’s electric delivery vans.
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