UK EV Company Begins Trials on new Electric Bus

As municipalities, worldwide, move towards electrified public transit systems, a number of companies are climbing aboard the EV bandwagon. The latest – UK-based startup Arrival.

The London EV company claims to be “reinventing both the design and production of electric vehicles for end to end sustainability.”

Of course, they’re pretty far from the only ones.

A bunch of companies are cashing in on the global EV zeitgeist, including China-based BYD (Build your Dreams), which has a broad electric portfolio (and which we’ve covered in this space).

We’ve also reported on a study, which said that 80% of all buses will be electric by 2040, and the desire on the part of cities and public officials is clearly there.

Arrival apparently uses lightweight recyclable composite materials, which apparently makes their EV buses lighter than the competition. They also take advantage of their own proprietary software ecosystem, though otherwise, I don’t detect a huge amount of innovation.

But I suppose more horses in the race is beneficial to everyone.

After the start of trials at their UK testing facility, Arrival’s Vice President of Bus Platform, Franck Dessenis, noted the following:

“We’ve seen a strong interest in the Bus this year, specifically from governments who are looking to upgrade their public transportation networks, in order 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’s EV buses are supposed to go into production in the 2Q of this year.