Declassified design of Arrival Car: the size of a VW Golf, and the space – like a Rolls-Royce!

This spring, the British electric vehicle startup Arrival, which previously dealt only with commercial vehicles, announced the first passenger model: the development is being carried out jointly with Uber, which (more precisely, its taxi drivers) will become the main one. Arrival car consumer. Now you can take a look at the perfect taxi car – the alpha prototype is presented.

Startup Arrival was founded in 2015 by Denis Sverdlov, who previously headed the current telecommunications company Yota, worked at the State Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, and is now an innovative entrepreneur. Based in London, Arrival develops modular electric vans and buses that can be rapidly produced in so-called micro-factories anywhere in the world. The microfactory does not have a traditional conveyor and many complex technological operations (for example, a paint shop, since the external composite body panels are painted in mass) – this saves space and production costs.

Arrival plans to start producing vans next year, with investors including Britain's Royal Mail and US courier service UPS, as well as South Korea's Hyundai.

The light arrival car has been launched by Uber, which wants to fully electrify its fleet in London by 2025 and in continental Europe and North America by 2030, meaning it will need a lot of electric vehicles. There are enough offers on the market today, but Uber decided to develop its electric taxi from scratch, taking into account the wishes and needs of ordinary taxi drivers who spend up to 10 hours a day driving (this is in Europe, lately). Our country is obviously a lot of “bombs” and not only).

Recall that in 2015 Uber made a bet on unmanned vehicles and allowed them to get carried away with their development (prototypes were created on the basis of Volvo XC90 crossovers), but nothing happened and exactly a year ago Uber abandoned the project. Now the world's largest taxi aggregator needs a car designed for a human driver, not artificial intelligence. This car now bears the working title Arrival Car.

According to the terms of reference for the arrival car – high mileage (about 50 thousand km per year), high reliability and maximum comfort for the driver and passengers. The traditional Lodnod cabin concept with a 5-passenger cab and a luggage compartment on the driver's side was blown away, instead the developers, in consultation with Uber drivers, came up with a compact van format with a single-color layout, in which the first row of seats is moved as far forward as possible, and the second row is shifted as as far back as possible, giving passengers legroom on par with Rolls-Royce luxury sedans. Dimensions and specifications of the Arrival Car have yet to be revealed, but a YouTube promotional video says the Arrival Car is comparable in size to a Volkswagen Golf.

The design of the new Uber salon is as concise as possible, so theoretically it could look like a long-awaited Apple electric car. In the cabin: high-quality, but discreet finishing materials and completely “empty” order with a multifunction display in the center and a smartphone holder. Wheel with spokes on drums – in the spirit of Tesla electric vehicles. The developers wanted the driver not to be distracted or disturbed by anything, and visibility in all directions was exemplary – hence the high windshield and a completely transparent roof (passengers can easily admire the views through it).

The front passenger seat can be folded down and moved forward to give rear passengers even more legroom. There is a fairly spacious trunk in the stern, but a passenger can put small airplane-type suitcases at his feet and still sit cross-legged – so spacious in the second row.

Production of the Arrival Car will begin towards the end of 2023. It is not yet known whether it will appear in retail. If someone likes this type of car, but can't buy the Arrival Car, we recommend that you take a closer look at the German electric compact van Sono Sion – its production is also expected in 2023, and everyone can definitely buy it.