Arrival (ARVL) successfully builds its first electric Van using novel Microfactory model
EV startup Arrival has completed a huge step in bringing its first commercial EV into production, particularly in the way its flagship Van is being assembled. Arrival has successfully built its first production-verification Van using its Microfactory in Bicester, UK, marking the start of a new streamlined assembly that could eventually shift how and where EVs are built in the future.
Arrival ($ARVL) is an EV start-up focused on delivering urban-centric mobility, which originally began with plans for an all-electric passenger Bus, a delivery Van, and a rideshare-centric Arrival Car designed alongside Uber.
Although the company currently has headquarters in both London and Charlotte, North Carolina, all of its R&D and design currently takes place in Bicester, where Arrival Van production will also begin.
Rather than pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the construction of mega production facilities, Arrival has taken the opposite approach. In what it calls its “Microfactory,” Arrival takes existing industrial facilities and installs its own assembly cells that can be quickly and efficiently implemented.
This strategy removes the need for any special foundations, pits for painting, or other assembly processes. Individual assembly cells are instead, bolted directly into the concrete floor. Each cell includes 3-4 off the shelf robots in addition to all the necessary equipment to guide parts around the facility, like autonomous robots for instance.
Since going public via SPAC merger in March of 2021, the start-up’s stock has stumbled, leading to an announcement this past July that it would be reorganizing its business to focus on Arrival Van production. As a result, Arrival put a complete halt to Arrival Bus and Car development for the time being.
Although Arrival has been making progress in building out production-ready Vans, none had been built in a Microfactory… until now.
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Some of the robotic cells in Arrival’s Bicester Microfactory / Source: Arrival -
Arrival shows proof of concept for Van Microfactory model
The startup shared its latest feat in bringing its last-mile delivery Van to production in a press release today, alongside a status update for Arrival as a whole. The Van seen above is the first to be assembled in Arrival’s initial software-defined Microfactory using in-house technologies, composite materials, autonomous mobile robots, and other in-house components.
By successfully rolling off the Microfactory assembly line in the UK, this latest Van shows proof of concept for Arrival’s unique production approach and moves its creators one step closer to scaled EV production and initial deliveries. Arrival founder and CEO Denis Sverdlov spoke to the company’s progress so far:
Today is an important day for Arrival. This is the first time a vehicle has ever been built in our Microfactory, using a new method that does not use a traditional assembly line. Although we have not yet achieved serial production, we are focused on making it happen. We will continue to produce vehicles in our Microfactory in order to master at-scale production. It has been more difficult than we had initially imagined, and I thank the team for the immense amount of effort, technology, innovative breakthroughs, and problem solving.
While this remains a huge accomplishment for the EV startup, Arrival’s upcoming Van builds will not be reaching customers just yet… at least not this year. The company states that all Vans built at the UK Microfactory will be used for continued testing, validation, and quality control.
As for official start of scaled production and delivery timelines, Arrival says we will learn more during its Q3 earnings report taking place November 8. Perhaps we will also get an update on its Van production progress in the US as well, now that one Microfactory is successfully up and running. We will report back when we learn more in November.
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Solar panel giant Qcells announced today that it’s temporarily furloughing 1,000 US workers – 25% of its workforce – and reducing pay and shifts at its factories in northeast Georgia due to supply chain delays caused by US Customs.
Qcells furloughs 1,000 workers
The supply chain delays are hindering the company’s ability to import components to build its solar panels. This has resulted in Qcells’ two factories in Cartersville and Dalton being unable to operate at full capacity for several months.
Qcells spokeswoman Marta Stoepker shared the following statement in an exclusive with Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta:
The company says the furloughed workers, who were notified this afternoon, will retain full benefits and won’t be laid off. However, Qcells will no longer be using staffing agency employees in Georgia “at this time.”
As Qcells introduced new supply chains to support its growing solar panel manufacturing facilities in Georgia, the company was recently forced to scale back production while our shipments into the US were delayed in the customs clearance process.
Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels.
Stoepker said it expects to bring the furloughed workers back “in the coming weeks and months.” She continued:
Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains. We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.
Electrek’s Take
In January 2023, the Seoul-headquartered Qcells announced it would invest more than $2.5 billion to build a solar supply chain in Georgia – the largest-ever investment in clean energy manufacturing in the US to date. That included expanding the Dalton solar factory and building a fully integrated solar supply chain factory in Cartersville, Georgia, that will manufacture solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels.
It’s not quite there yet, because that takes time. In the meantime, it’s being penalized by Customs. The US government under Trump says it’s keen on boosting domestic manufacturing. Why would it work against a company that’s onshoring an entire solar supply chain, including recycling?
Dalton and Cartersville employ nearly 4,000 people. Its total output will reach 8.4 GW of solar production capacity per year, which is equivalent to nearly 46,000 panels per day – enough to power approximately 1.3 million homes annually.
It’s ludicrous that it has been forced to furlough a quarter of its workforce due to the ineptness of the Trump administration’s US Customs policies. This is right up there with the ICE arrests at Hyundai’s plant in Georgia. Bravo.
Read more: Georgia gives US solar panel manufacturing a big boost with a new factory
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The breakthrough EV batteries Toyota says will double driving range and cut charging times are facing another setback. The company is once again delaying plans for a new battery plant in Japan.
Why is Toyota delaying its EV battery plant this time?
Earlier this year, Toyota bought a 280,000-square-meter plot of land in Fukuoka, Japan, where it planned to build a plant to produce the more advanced EV batteries.
A location agreement was expected to be signed by April, but Toyota pushed back construction by several months, blaming slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles.
The agreement was expected to be finalized this Fall, but that will no longer be the case. According to Nikkei, Toyota is delaying the EV battery plant for the second time. Toyota will review and adjust plans over the next year.
Fukuoka governor, Seitaro Hattori, confirmed the news with reporters on Friday following a meeting with Toyota’s president, Koji Sato. Hattori also shut down claims that Toyota was planning to scrap the battery plant altogether.
Toyota again blamed slowing EV demand for the delay. The decision comes despite Keiji Kaita, president of Toyota’s Carbon Neutral Advanced Engineering Development Center, confirming at the Japan Mobility Show just last week that it’s “sticking on the schedule” to introduce its first solid-state battery-powered EV by 2028.
Last month, Toyota said it aimed to “achieve the world’s first practical use of all-solid-state batteries in BEVs” after securing a partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. to mass-produce them. It’s also working with Japanese oil giant Idemitsu.
The company recently revealed a solid-state battery pack prototype that it claims can deliver 747 miles (1,200 km) range and 10-minute fast charging, but will we ever see it actually in production?
Electrek’s Take
Toyota has been making empty promises about EV batteries for almost a decade now. It initially planned to introduce solid-state EV batteries in 2020, then pushed it to 2023, then 2026, and now it’s saying it will be around 2028.
Mass production is likely closer to the end of the decade, if Toyota doesn’t delay it again. While it’s blaming the slowing demand, global EV sales are still on the rise. According to Rho Motion, global EV sales topped 2 million for the first time in a single month in September 2025. Through the first nine months of the year, EV sales are up 26% compared to the same period in 2024.
Even with the US ending the $7,500 federal tax credit and other policies designed to promote electric vehicles, global adoption will continue building momentum over the next few years.
Is it a demand issue, or is Toyota just looking for another excuse? With rivals like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW, and Honda advancing next-gen EV batteries, Toyota will only fall further behind if it continues delaying key projects.
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