开发电动卡车和公共汽车的初创公司Arrival今天宣布,将通过特殊目的收购公司(SPAC)这种当前流行的方式上市。在该笔交易中,这家初创公司的估值为54亿美元。该公司与UPS签署了生产电动货车的协议。
该笔交易将通过与一家专门实体CIIG Merger Corp.(CIIC)合并来完成,主要投资者包括富达管理和研究公司(Fidelity Management & Research)、威灵顿管理公司(Wellington Management)和贝莱德(BlackRock)旗下的基金。之前的投资来自现代起亚(Hyundai-Kia)。新合并后的公司将在纳斯达克上市交易,交易代码为ARVL。Arrival表示,通过该笔交易可以获得约6.6亿美元现金,可用于支持公司的发展。
Arrival成立于2015年1月,主营电动货车和公共汽车生产,主要服务商业和市政买家。该公司的一笔大订单来自UPS。UPS向其订购了10,000辆电动快递货车,将在2022年投产。UPS还可能额外购买10,000辆货车。Arrival表示,加上其他合同,公司的订单总价值高达12亿美元。
与特斯拉(Tesla)或Fisker这些华丽的、面向消费者的电动汽车制造商不同,Arrival主要生产低成本汽车。该公司表示,货车和公共汽车“与化石燃料汽车相比,在价格上很有竞争力,并且其价格将远低于同类电动汽车。”
Arrival汽车业务负责人、前通用汽车(General Motors)副总裁麦克·埃布尔森告诉《财富》杂志,价格更低的原因主要是Arrival的生产方法。该公司计划在所谓的“微工厂”中进行生产,生产设施中将采用轻型机器人和自动化技术,可部署在现有仓库或类似空间内,以减少资本支出。
埃布尔森表示,这种工厂模式之所以可行,是因为电动汽车的组装比传统内燃机汽车更简单,因此更容易部署自动化技术。另外一种关键创新是Arrival独有的预浸复合材料制成的车身覆盖件,避免了占地面积巨大的传统喷涂系统。
埃布尔森表示,Arrival内部已经开发出电池模块和其他电子组件,相比于向其他供应商采购,内部研发能够提高利润率。与其他许多电动汽车初创公司一样,Arrival也采用了模块化的“滑板”模式,可以设计不同车体,搭配相同的底盘和传动系统使用。
埃布尔森称,微工厂模式除了节约成本以外,还提高了Arrival的灵活性。“我们不需要预测未来三四年的需求……我们可以随着需求的变化扩大工厂的规模,”包括应对具体合同的要求。
Arrival的第一家微工厂将于2021年设在英国,用于生产货车。美国的第一家微工厂将位于南卡罗莱纳州。埃布尔森称,今年该公司的公共汽车原型将在美国上路。(财富中文网)
译者:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
开发电动卡车和公共汽车的初创公司Arrival今天宣布,将通过特殊目的收购公司(SPAC)这种当前流行的方式上市。在该笔交易中,这家初创公司的估值为54亿美元。该公司与UPS签署了生产电动货车的协议。
该笔交易将通过与一家专门实体CIIG Merger Corp.(CIIC)合并来完成,主要投资者包括富达管理和研究公司(Fidelity Management & Research)、威灵顿管理公司(Wellington Management)和贝莱德(BlackRock)旗下的基金。之前的投资来自现代起亚(Hyundai-Kia)。新合并后的公司将在纳斯达克上市交易,交易代码为ARVL。Arrival表示,通过该笔交易可以获得约6.6亿美元现金,可用于支持公司的发展。
Arrival成立于2015年1月,主营电动货车和公共汽车生产,主要服务商业和市政买家。该公司的一笔大订单来自UPS。UPS向其订购了10,000辆电动快递货车,将在2022年投产。UPS还可能额外购买10,000辆货车。Arrival表示,加上其他合同,公司的订单总价值高达12亿美元。
与特斯拉(Tesla)或Fisker这些华丽的、面向消费者的电动汽车制造商不同,Arrival主要生产低成本汽车。该公司表示,货车和公共汽车“与化石燃料汽车相比,在价格上很有竞争力,并且其价格将远低于同类电动汽车。”
Arrival汽车业务负责人、前通用汽车(General Motors)副总裁麦克·埃布尔森告诉《财富》杂志,价格更低的原因主要是Arrival的生产方法。该公司计划在所谓的“微工厂”中进行生产,生产设施中将采用轻型机器人和自动化技术,可部署在现有仓库或类似空间内,以减少资本支出。
埃布尔森表示,这种工厂模式之所以可行,是因为电动汽车的组装比传统内燃机汽车更简单,因此更容易部署自动化技术。另外一种关键创新是Arrival独有的预浸复合材料制成的车身覆盖件,避免了占地面积巨大的传统喷涂系统。
埃布尔森表示,Arrival内部已经开发出电池模块和其他电子组件,相比于向其他供应商采购,内部研发能够提高利润率。与其他许多电动汽车初创公司一样,Arrival也采用了模块化的“滑板”模式,可以设计不同车体,搭配相同的底盘和传动系统使用。
埃布尔森称,微工厂模式除了节约成本以外,还提高了Arrival的灵活性。“我们不需要预测未来三四年的需求……我们可以随着需求的变化扩大工厂的规模,”包括应对具体合同的要求。
Arrival的第一家微工厂将于2021年设在英国,用于生产货车。美国的第一家微工厂将位于南卡罗莱纳州。埃布尔森称,今年该公司的公共汽车原型将在美国上路。(财富中文网)
译者:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
Arrival, a startup developing electric trucks and buses, announced today that it will go public via a trendy process known as a SPAC, a special purpose acquisition company. The deal values the startup, which has a deal in place to produce electric vans for UPS, at $5.4 billion dollars.
Lead investors in the deal, executed via a merger with a dedicated entity called CIIG Merger Corp. (CIIC), include Fidelity Management & Research, Wellington Management, and funds managed by BlackRock. Prior investments have come from Hyundai-Kia. The newly combined company will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker ARVL. Arrival says the deal will leave it with about $660 million in cash to fund growth.
Arrival, founded in January 2015, is focused on producing electric vans and buses for commercial and municipal buyers. Its banner deal is with UPS, which has ordered 10,000 electric delivery vans, which will go into production in 2022. UPS has an option to purchase an additional 10,000 vans, and, along with other contracts, Arrival says it has deals in place worth as much as $1.2 billion.
Unlike flashy consumer EV makers such as Tesla or Fisker, Arrival is primarily focused on producing low-cost vehicles. It says its vans and buses will be “competitive in price with fossil fuel alternatives and substantially lower than comparable EVs.”
Mike Ableson, head of Arrival’s automotive operations and formerly vice president at General Motors, told Fortune that’s possible largely because of Arrival’s approach to manufacturing. The company plans to produce its vehicles in what it calls “micro-factories,” using lightweight robotics and automation to stand up production facilities that fit into existing warehouses or similar spaces, reducing capital expenditures.
Ableson says the factory format is possible because electric vehicles are simpler to assemble than traditional internal-combustion vehicles, making automation easier. Another key innovation is Arrival’s unique color-infused composite body paneling, which eliminates the need for a traditional, large-footprint paint system.
According to Ableson, Arrival has also developed battery modules and other electrical components in house, which should improve profit margins compared with buying those from suppliers. Like some other EV startups, Arrival uses a modular “skateboard” format that allows various bodies to be designed for use with the same undercarriage and drivetrain.
In addition to cost reductions, Ableson says the micro-factory approach makes Arrival more agile. “We don’t have to forecast demand three or four years in the future…We can roll out factories as we see demand develop,” including in response to specific contracts.
The first of Arrival’s micro-factories is a van production facility coming to the U.K. in 2021. Arrival’s first U.S. micro-factory will be in South Carolina, and Ableson says bus prototypes should be on the road in the U.S. this year.