Arrival commences trials of its electric bus in the UK
British electric vehicle manufacturer Arrival has recently announced the starting of trials of its e-bus at a testing facility in the UK. The bus will undergo a rigorous validation and testing ahead of certification, after which public road trials are expected. The company is expected to begin production for the e-bus in the second half of this year.
"This is a key milestone for Arrival and we're thrilled to have started proving ground trials, where the Bus is currently going through testing, ahead of EU certification and public road trials next year," said Franck Dessenis, Vice President of Bus Platform, Arrival.
"We've seen a strong interest in the Bus this year, specifically from governments who are looking to upgrade their public transportation networks, to achieve their zero-emission pledges. We're partnering closely with governments, cities, and operators to build infrastructure solutions and seamless mobility services for local communities to support their clean energy targets."
Arrival is known for its unique new method of design and production of affordable EVs by local 'micro factories', in contrast to 'Giga factories' being built by other leading EV makers. The electric bus is one of the three products under development by the company, the other two being an electric car and an electric delivery van.
The e-bus uses in-house components shared with the van and the car models, and Arrival's lightweight recyclable composite materials. This, alongside common suspension and the wheels and tires at front and rear, means that the bus is expected to be lighter than other battery-electric buses in the market today.
The e-bus takes advantage of the company's software ecosystem, enabling full connectivity, digital customization, and deep access to vehicle behavior and data. It can be tailored to meet local cities' needs with its modular design, which enables configuration of length, range, battery, and passenger capacity.
"This marks an important day as all of our milestones for 2021 have been achieved. We now look forward to bringing our vehicles, led by the Bus, to the market beginning in 2022, built by our Microfactories and helping to make the air cleaner around the world," said Avinash Rugoobur, President, Arrival.
