Electric van company Arrival becomes leading UK unicorn

Arrival, a UK-based electric van developer, has received a €100mn investment from Korean automotive giants Hyundai and Kia to jointly develop vehicles through Arrival’s platforms and technologies. 

The investment has established Arrival as one of the UK’s foremost unicorns, highlighting the appetite for sustainable entrepreneurialism in Britain despite the current period of economic uncertainty and weak growth in the British automotive market. 

Commercial EVs are considered a key component of negating the carbon impact of transport infrastructure around the globe, and Arrival’s electric vans are set to compete with models such as Tesla’s brutalist cybertruck unveiled late last year and its long-awaited electric van.

A true sustainability champion, Arrival’s microfactories are situated in high demand areas and have minimal carbon footprints, with the firm’s 800-person operations found across five countries.

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Hyundai and Kia will capitalise on Arrival’s in-house software, materials, components and “modular skateboard platforms” to develop purpose-built EVs for myriad product categories. The move ties closely with Hyundai’s own Two Track programme which seeks to accelerate the advent of alternatively-fuelled vehicles in the commercial space.

“Arrival has created a game changing product category - Generation 2 Electric Vehicles. Hyundai and KIA make world-class vehicles with uncompromising quality,” said Denis Sverdlov, Founder and CEO at Arrival, in the company’s 16 January press release. “This strategic partnership will empower our companies to scale Generation 2 Electric Vehicles globally”

Albert Biermann, President and Head of Research and Development Division at Hyundai Motor Group, added: “The eco-friendly vehicle market in Europe is expected to grow rapidly due to reinforcement of environmental regulations. Through the joint development of commercial electric vehicles with Arrival, we will be able to gain a competitive advantage and progressively establish our leadership in the global eco-friendly vehicle market.”