Arrival, the Anglo-American startup which is hoping to change the design and manufacture of electric vehicles, is ready to talk about its first car. The Arrival Car is designed to be used by drivers who are part time.
The Arrival Car is an electric update to the London black cab for cities of the future, but the company doesn't want to call it a taxi. It is smaller and more efficient than current cars, but still has buckets of room inside.
Arrival announced in May that it was teaming up with Uber to create a vehicle for ride-sharing. The first models are expected to roll off the production line in 3 years.
I was able to look at the Alpha prototype, but the company is cautious about sharing too many images of the same. It doesn't feel like the first model is representative of what's to come. I was not allowed to take pictures of the car in its entirety, but I was given a mixture of renders and close-up shots of various components.
Arrival feels confident that it can turn a car around in a short period of time because it is on its own. The EV skate platform that was developed for the van and the bus is used in the Car. Arrival can cut its skate to the right size and plonk any cabin structure on top.
The Arrival Car is a box on wheels with an emphasis on maximizing the internal space for passengers. It has the same silhouette as a minivan, and you could easily imagine a line of these parked outside a soccer match. It is also quite cool because it completely ignores the need to be aesthetic.
There is something humane about its design, something organic. There is no need for a bonnet because the engine is on the floor. The interior space is airy and roomy due to the glass roof stretching over the cabin.
I have seen visitor centers that are more cramped because of the focus on maximizing the interior space and legroom. The car has more space than a London Black Cab, despite sitting on the same footprint. If you need more room, the front passenger seat can be folded down and pushed forward. The height should help people with mobility issues because you can easily step up and into this vehicle rather than crouching down.
The luggage space is the only issue with this first version. The first model has a small luggage compartment that can hold two large and two small suitcases. Tom Elvidge believes that changes will be made to improve the prototype.
Arrival has a custom software platform that drives the system, and the car has a 13-inch screen in the dashboard. This will need to be made available in left and right-hand-drive models. It helps clear out some of the confusion that some drivers have with their view.
The car has been designed to be comfortable but not full of delicate materials, which is a driver-focused benefit. The prototype uses bright colored woven fabrics for seat covers and is spill resistant on the floor. Reducing the amount of time drivers can be on the road due to the risks of passengers dirtying up the vehicle is a key priority.
Arrival has two years to answer many of the questions we have about this vehicle. Since the company is focused on ironing out the design, there are no facts about battery capacity, range, speed or cost. It won't be speed-capped to only go around city streets, since 10 percent of the journeys are to the airports. It has to pass as a family car for when drivers aren't working and want to use the car as their own ride.
The cost will be a big factor to help drivers ditch their existing vehicles. Arrival thinks that many of the innovations it has already developed will help it there, but there are no concrete figures yet. You can imagine that this will become a hit given how many taxi fleets have adopted the Toyota hybrid to squeeze more range from their fuel budgets.
Arrival's EV platform makes for an amazing driving experience and one that is very fun to use. I was allowed to drive one of the test vans around the company's car park-cum-test-track. The heavy-ass package van is a go-kart-like vehicle that drives with ease and precision. I am sure that a lot of professional drivers will enjoy the feeling of connection that this system offers.
Arrival is working on refining elements from the first model for the second prototype. We will wait and see how this shakes out in the end, as there is a lot of work to be done between now and the end of the year.
