Global courier company orders 10,000 purpose built electric vehicles from Banbury's Arrival

By Nicky Godding

30 January 2020

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Electric vehicle company Arrival, which has its R&D base in Banbury, has won a major contract to build 10,000 of its electric vehicles from multinational courier company UPS.

The initial 10,000 vehicles will be rolled out in the UK, Europe and North America from 2020 to 2024 worth hundreds of millions of euros each year. UPS has the option to purchase a further order of 10,000 vehicles during this period. UPS venture capital arm also announced a minority investment in Arrival of an undisclosed amount.

Last week we reported that Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation have also invested €100 million (£75 million) investment in Arrival.

The vehicles will be built using Arrival’s new method of assembly using low capital, low footprint microfactories located to serve local communities and profitable from thousands of units.

Denis Sverdlov, Founder and CEO at Arrival, said: "Arrival first announced a partnership with UPS to develop electric vehicles in 2016 with today’s vehicle order and investment accelerating the deployment of fit for purpose electric fleets at scale. Arrival’s unique Generation 2 electric vehicles offer UPS compelling commercial and environmental benefits to make a seamless and cost effective transition to a zero emissions fleet.

"UPS has been a strong strategic partner of Arrival, providing valuable insight to how electric delivery vans are used on the road and how they can be optimised for drivers. Together our teams have been creating bespoke electric vehicles, based on our flexible skateboard platforms, that meet the end-to-end needs of UPS from driving, loading/unloading, depot and back office operations. We are pleased that today’s investment and vehicle order creates even closer ties between our two companies."

Juan Perez, UPS Chief Information and Engineering Officer, said: “UPS continues to build an integrated fleet of electric vehicles, combined with innovative, large-scale fleet charging technology. As mega-trends like population growth, urban migration, and e-commerce continue to accelerate, we recognize the need to work with partners around the world to solve both road congestion and pollution challenges for our customers and the communities we serve. Electric vehicles form a cornerstone to our sustainable urban delivery strategies. Taking an active investment role in Arrival enables UPS to collaborate on the design and production of the world’s most advanced electric delivery vehicles.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.