Steadily, but surely, we are moving towards a society where Electric Vehicles or EVs will be the standard when it comes to transportation. There are already various kinds of EVs available for environment conscious consumers and as we saw during CES 2019, there are more impressive ones on their way. Most automotive companies are working on creating EVs of the future that can not only help reverse climate change but are also economical, and packed with features.
Two bigwigs from the automobile industry, Hyundai and Kia, have now invested a whopping €100 million in Arrival, which is now one of the UK’s largest unicorns. The three companies will collaborate for developing vehicles using Arrival’s platforms and key technologies.
Massive funding for Arrival
WIth a €100 million investment in Arrival, Kia and Hyundai will partner with the unicorn to work on new technologies. This strategic partnership is also expected to accelerate the adoption of commercial electric vehicles globally. Hyundai and Kia recently announced their goals of developing new mobility services and electrifying their vehicle fleets and they intend to achieve this with key technologies developed by Arrival.
“We are excited to come out of stealth mode with our partnership with Hyundai Motor Group, and our complementary expertise will allow us to rapidly design, build and roll out vehicles together. Accelerating electric vehicle adoption is good for everyone – for people, business and the planet and we are pleased to undertake this mission with our partners Hyundai and Kia,” says Avinash Rugoobur, Arrival’s Chief Strategy Officer.
Arrival Generation-2 vehicles in the making
Arrival is currently working on Generation 2 Electric Vehicles, which are expected to be far superior than current Generation 1 EVs. Gen 1 EVs are designed and based on current diesel and petrol engine cars and are retrofitted with electric power trains, which increases expenses, is inefficient and costly to run and maintain. Arrival’s Generation 2 products are designed from scratch and are said to surpass traditional vehicles in terms of cost, design and efficiency.
Arrival employs vertical integration and uses its in-house software, components, sustainable materials and modular skateboard platforms. Under the newly forged partnership, Hyundai and Kia will use Arrival’s flexible skateboard platforms and technologies to create new purpose built electric vehicles (PBVs) across multiple vehicle categories.
“Hyundai and Kia will leverage Arrival’s novel microfactories and software innovation whilst Arrival will benefit from the OEM’s global footprint and economies of scale. This will help accelerate the ‘Two Track’ strategy adopted by Hyundai, to bring zero-emissions battery and fuel cell technologies to the commercial vehicle market.” Arrival notes in a media release.
Image credits: Arrival
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