Hyundai and Kia, a pair of Korean auto giants, have joined forces to invest over $110 million into U.K. startup Arrival, which will supply electric delivery vehicles. Of the total investment sum, Hyundai will contribute $88.7m and Kia $22.1m. The startup has been in hiding, but now, with this significant investment, it has instantly become one of Britain’s top ten most valuable start-ups – valued at €3 billion ($3.4 billion).
Arrival chief strategy officer Avinash Rugoobur said:
We are excited to come out of stealth mode with our partnership with Hyundai and Kia, a globally respected OEM with brilliant products on the road, and our complementary expertise will allow us to rapidly transition to full-scale global production. 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.
Arrival is a five-year-old London-based company. It has around 800 employees across five countries – including the United States, Germany, and Russia. Throughout these beginning years, the company was cagey about its activity. Now, with its new partners, it’s ready to take over the world!
Arrival plans to make electric vehicles that cost the same as traditional fossil fuel vehicles by dramatically cutting manufacturing costs using “micro-factories” adjacent to major cities. The car’s modular “skateboard” platform enables a range of models to be built on one system. It can be adapted to a wide variety of vehicle categories and types.
The company already has prototype electric delivery vehicles participating in trials conducted by global delivery companies like UPS, DHL, and Royal Mail. Now, they aim to bring small and medium-size electric vans and other products for logistics to the market. At the same time, they plan to bring on-demand ride-hailing and shuttle service companies to the market.
UPS has announced that they will be adding 10,000 Arrival EV to their fleet!
Albert Biermann, president and head of R&D for Hyundai Motor Group, said:
The eco-friendly vehicle market in Europe is expected to grow rapidly due to the introduction of more environmental regulations. Through the joint development of electric commercial vehicles with Arrival, we will be able to gain a competitive advantage and progressively establish our leadership in the global eco-friendly vehicle market, with Europe at the forefront.
Denis Sverdlovsk, CEO of Arrival, added:
Arrival has created a game-changing product category of ‘generation 2.0’ electric vehicles. Our strategic partnership with Hyundai and Kia will enable us to scale generation 2.0 electric vehicles globally and importantly, in the very near future.
Hyundai announced last year that it would be investing a total of $35 billion in autonomous driving and electric cars. However, Youngcho Chi, Hyundai’s president and chief innovation officer, said in a statement about Arrival:
This investment is part of an open innovation strategy pursued by Hyundai and Kia.
The vehicles Arrival will produce are just a piece of a bigger plan for Hyundai. Overall, it wants to release 23 types of electric vehicles by 2025 through its investments. Flying taxis are included in the grand scheme of things as Hyundai recently presented a flying taxi concept with Uber at the Las Vegas CES tech conference.
