Car production's micro revolution

Start-up Arrival is pioneering the microfactory' manufacturing process for its new EV

- JULIAN RENDELL

One of Britain's most advanced vehicle factories, owned by start-up Arrival in Bicester, is gearing up to make its first parcel delivery van, and Autocar has been given an exclusive first look.

The site is the first in the world to use a 'microfactory' production system, in which the usual assembly line is replaced by flexible manufacturing cells, with the design, layout and low output of the site established for supplying the local market.

"We're all about being local, selling locally, configuring our plant to local demand and being flexible in production," said EV platform boss James Broomer.

Arrival's manufacturing revolution is revealed by its van's high-tech interior, rather than the exterior of its two anonymous industrial sheds.

One building of 120,000sq ft houses the body plant, where composite thermoset panels are heat-formed on two lines of vacuum presses, while the second, 180,000sq ft building is the assembly hall, fitted out with Kuka robotic-arm manufacturing cells and logistics handled by a fleet of 150 computer-controlled Wemo mobile robots.

When we visited, Bicester was bustling in the ramp-up phase, with engineers and factory staff focused on trialling production processes, installing robotics arms in the production cells and fine-tuning the programming of the Wemos.

Capacity is 5000 per year, doubled with a second shift, but Arrival has delayed delivery of its first vans until the second half of 2022, so the race is on to get the new production system working in the third quarter to hit a target of 400500 delivered by year's end.

"We have the sprint mentality," smiles Broomer.

Much is resting on this start of production. Arrival has raised nearly $1 billion in funding from investors including the Hyundai Motor Group, asset management giant Blackrock and courier firm UPS, which has agreed to buy 10,000 vans globally.