UK Electric Vehicle Unicorn Arrival Receives €100M Investment from Hyundai and Kia

Victoria Tomlinson

24 Apr 2020

Hyundai and Kia invest €100M, making Arrival one of the UK’s largest unicorns
Arrival, Hyundai and Kia will jointly develop vehicles using Arrival platforms and key technologies
Arrival’s Generation 2 Electric Vehicles are a new category of electric vehicles that surpass traditional vehicles in cost, design and efficiency
Generation 2 vehicles are designed to be assembled by microfactories – located to serve local communities, with small footprint to achieve profitability at thousands of units

16 January 2020, London, UK and Seoul, South Korea.

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation announce today a €100M investment in UK based electric vehicle company Arrival.The investment marks the start of a strategic partnership between the automakers to jointly accelerate the adoption of commercial electric vehicles globally. Hyundai and Kia will use key Arrival technologies to help achieve their recently announced goal to develop mobility services and electrify their vehicle fleets.Arrival is reimagining vehicle design and assembly to create Generation 2 Electric Vehicles. Generation 1 electric vehicles are existing fossil fuel vehicles retrofitted with electric power trains, making them expensive, inefficient and costly to run and maintain. In contrast, Arrival’s Generation 2 products have been designed from a blank sheet and surpass traditional vehicles in cost, design and efficiency.Generation 2 vehicles are assembled using small footprint microfactories, located in areas of demand and profitable at thousands of units. Headquartered in London with over 800 employees in 5 countries Arrival is vertically integrated, and has created in-house software, components, sustainable materials and modular skateboard platforms.Through the course of the partnership, Arrival, 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 has created a game changing product category - Generation 2 Electric Vehicles. Hyundai and KIA make world-class vehicles with uncompromising quality. This strategic partnership will empower our companies to scale Generation 2 Electric Vehicles globally

Denis Sverdlov, Founder and CEO at Arrival

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.”Arrival’s immediate focus is on the commercial vehicle market, which has seen the largest increase in usage and therefore emissions as over 90% of commercial vehicles are diesel fuelled. Electric vehicles fit seamlessly within commercial fleets as they benefit from predictable routes and overnight depot charging. As a result of the clever design and assembly process, Arrival’s vehicles are priced the same, or less than, current fossil fuel vehicles. This gives fleet managers a compelling commercial and environmental reason to switch to electric and will accelerate the adoption of electric technology globally. With over 300million commercial vehicles in the world, this will have a significant impact on global emissions.

This investment is part of an open innovation strategy pursued by Hyundai and Kia. We will accelerate investment and cooperation with companies with advanced technology such as Arrival, to respond to the rapidly changing eco-friendly vehicle market.

Youngcho Chi, President and Chief Innovation Officer at Hyundai Motor Group

As Arrival transitions from R&D to full-scale production, Hyundai and Kia offer Arrival their combined expertise in mass manufacturing and vehicle launches, underpinning Arrival’s ambition of scaling rapidly around the world. Together the partnership represents a winning combination to enable the imminent delivery of the next generation of scalable, purpose built electric mobility solutions.“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 ”, Avinash Rugoobur, Arrival’s Chief Strategy Officer said.J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive financial advisor and placement agent for the private capital raising.

About Arrival

Arrival is a technology company that's created Generation 2 Electric Vehicles – a new product category that surpasses existing electric vehicles in cost, design and efficiency.Founded in 2015, Arrival has over 800 people globally and is headquartered in London, UK. It also has offices in Germany, Netherlands, Israel, Russia and the US.Arrival has created in-house software, components, sustainable materials and modular skateboard platforms to enable Generation 2 vehicles. Purpose Built Vehicles of any weight, type, size and shape are produced from Arrival’s platforms and assembled by microfactories. Each low footprint microfactory produces any vehicle on demand and is located to serve local communities. They are profitable from thousands of units and can be deployed within 3 months.Arrival’s vehicles are priced the same, or less than, current fossil fuel vehicles, making the decision to switch to electric inevitable, and increasing the adoption of electric technology globally. With over 300million commercial vehicles in the world, this will have a huge impact on people, business and the planet.

About Hyundai Motor Company

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is committed to becoming a lifetime partner in automobiles and beyond with its range of world-class vehicles and mobility services available in more than 200 countries. Employing more than 110,000 employees worldwide, Hyundai has sold more than 4.5 million vehicles globally. Hyundai Motor continues to enhance its product line-up with vehicles that are helping to build solutions for a more sustainable future, such as NEXO, the world’s first dedicated hydrogen-powered SUV.

About Kia Motors Corporation

Kia Motors (www.kia.com) is a maker of world-class quality vehicles for the young-at-heart. Founded in 1944, Kia today sells around 3 million vehicles a year in 190 countries, with more than 52,000 employees worldwide, annual revenues of over US$49 billion and manufacturing facilities in five countries. Kia is the major sponsor of the Australian Open, official automotive partner of FIFA, official partner of the UEFA Europa League, and main partner of League of Legends European Championship 2019. The company's brand slogan – "The Power to Surprise" – represents Kia’s global commitment to surprise the world with exciting, inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations.

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