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The move will help finance mass production of Arrival’s electric bus and van
The move will provide around half a billion pounds in cash proceeds for the EV innovator, helping fund mass production at its microfactories planned to begin next year
UK electric vehicle (EV) start-up Arrival announced this week it will list on the New York Stock Exchange in a move that would value the company at more than £4bn.
The move is expected to generate approximately £500m for the Banbury-based company, helping finance mass production of its first electric bus and van, slated to begin next year and in early 2022, respectively.
The announcement came in the same week the UK government confirmed it is moving forward a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2030, and plug-in hybrids from 2035. Arrival’s chief strategy officer Avinash Rugoobur said the coincidence reflects the fact that “we’re at an inflection point” from which the transition to EVs will accelerate rapidly.
Arrival, which was founded in 2014 by Russian entrepreneur Denis Sverdlov, has grown rapidly since, partnering with Royal Mail and UPS to trial electric vans and with Blackberry and Cubic Telecom to develop operating systems. In January this year, Hyundai and Kia invested around €100m in the firm and delivery firm UPS ordered 10,000 electric vans. It now employes more than 1,300 people, principally in the UK and US.
The firm plans to use “microfactories” to produce EVs using advanced robotic technologies, replacing the production line model which was pioneered by Henry Ford and has dominated manufacturing industries ever since. The company claims its vans will be comparable in price to fossil fuel alternatives – which cost around £35,000 – but will prove 17 per cent cheaper to operate than diesel vans over their lifespan, a key factor for companies managing large vehicle fleets.
The listing will enable Arrival to capitalise on massive investor interest in EVs which has made US trailblazer Tesla the world’s largest carmaker by market value, worth more than $425bn. By comparison, Ford is valued at $35bn.
The fundraising on the Nasdaq stock exchange will be carried out via merger with a CIIG Merger Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which are set up by investors specifically to find and buy another business.
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