Startup Arrival is building a future for commercial electric vehicles around the world, thanks in part to a recent $118 million investment from BlackRock. The financial boost is helping the UK-based company grow, including a jump across the pond, with Arrival officially launching its first U.S. microfactory in South Carolina this month.
Arrival is taking the opposite approach to Tesla's gigafactory model. "We have changed the approach to the production of vehicles," said Arrival President, Avinash Rugoobur.
"We believe when you take the traditional approach of large gigafactories or megafactories then you're really reliant on the economies of scale to get any profit in margins."
Instead, Arrival is using a more local approach in order to branch out. "We are using small microfactories, like the one in South Carolina, and that means we can actually bring these microfactories into any state. This is our first launch in the U.S. but we'll be expanding," said Rugoobur.
Each factory has the goal of producing about 10,000 vans or 1,000 buses per year, he explained. "It's a different approach that results in better margins for us and lower prices for our customers."
Arrival has already teamed up with UPS to get its electric vans into the commercial delivery space. The delivery giant has ordered 10,000 vehicles, with the potential to order up to 10,000 more, and the vehicles are set to roll out over the next few years.
The company's production process is vertically-integrated, building products from the ground-up rather than focusing primarily on the battery pack. This means Arrival can look to offer its EVs at a more competitive price than petrol or diesel models.
Still, Arrival is focused on lowering the costs of its electric vehicles because Rugoobur argues the price point is what could prevent more people from adopting electric cars around the world. The company is looking to sell its electric vans at close to $40,000 per vehicle.
"We are at the similar price to diesel and you get better, lower, total cost of operations," said Rugoobur.
"When customers can buy an electric vehicle at the same price as a diesel, we believe that's when the rapid adoption of this technology will take place."
Arrival has announced an electric van and bus for 2021, and Rugoobur said the company is not letting the pandemic stop them.
"In terms of COVID, it does mean we are working from home, but in terms of the engineering and the production we've managed to make sure each of the microfactories are safe," said the Arrival President. "But again, with a smaller footprint, we actually have a smaller amount of employees per each microfactory, so it's allowed us to be safe. And, so far, luckily, we are able to continue with our production plans as is."
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
With a merger this big, creators, studios, and theaters all face uncertain futures. Here’s what experts are worried about and what good could come from it.
With disengagement rising and hybrid work shifting, 'Everybody Matters' author Bob Chapman explains why treating people well could define the future of work.
We sat down with Ali Furman, U.S. Consumer Markets Industry Leader at consulting firm PwC to ask what trends she garnered from the initial data this year.
