Prodrive receives 'Last Mile Vehicle Demonstrator' investment

By Tom Kilkelly

28 September 2023

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Credit: Prodrive

Oxfordshire's Prodrive Advanced Technology has announced that it has been selected as one of 12 recipients of a share of a £22.7 million investment scheme.

The funding comes as part of an investment competition, ARMD2, hosted by the Advanced Propulsion Centre, which looks to assist 'fast-start projects for the accelerated development of automotive products with a potential route to market' according to Prodrive.

With £11 million in Government support through the APC matched by industry funding in total, Prodrive's Advanced Technology division, in collaboration with Astheimer Design, is looking to complete and deliver its EVOLV vehicle concept within the year.

Dr Iain Roche, CEO Prodrive Advanced Technology: ''We are delighted to receive this funding from the APC to accelerate the development of our EVOLV Last Mile vehicle concept that offers a zero emission L7e platform with a market disrupting total cost of ownership proposition.''

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The EVOLV Last Mile vehicle platform demonstrator essentially aims to deliver an N1 Vehicle load (truck sized vehicle) with an L7 package, meaning it can cover the bases of both an N1 and L7 market. Prodrive is targeting fleet operators looking for a 'a strong total cost of ownership proposition' with the EVOLV.

Ian Constance, CEO of APC, said: ''The Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator competition is a distinct offering from the APC as it sees the development of a new, tangible product in such a short period of time.

''The successful applicants all have fantastic proposals that now have the green flag to kick-start. In just 12 months we will see the fruits of this GBP22.7 million investment from both industry and Government.

''Given the success of the previous round, the dozen projects we've funded today will be ones to keep an eye on when they are delivered next year.''

By Tom Kilkelly

Tom Kilkelly started working as a freelance journalist for The Business Magazine following his graduation from UCL in 2022.

During his studies Tom became very interested in the works of Irish authors including Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan).

His current role as a freelance business reporter is his first exposure to the world of business journalism. Working at TBM has given Tom the chance to really get to grips with the goings-on in the business hive that is the South East.