- Written by Theo Leggett
- BBC News Business Correspondent
The UK-based operations of electric van maker Arrival, once championed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have been placed into administration.
Arrival is planned to produce an innovative electric van to be sold around the world.
The Banbury-based business was worth £9bn just three years ago
It was said to be the future of the British car industry, but the design struggled to come to fruition.
Of these, 172 people are employed by Arrival UK Ltd and Arrival Automotive. Nearly 40 people have been laid off, and others are staying on to help sell the business and assets.
Arrival was founded in the UK in 2015 by Russian billionaire and former government minister Denis Sverdlov.
The aim was to produce electric vans, buses using simple manufacturing processes and lower taxes. The company planned to produce them in so-called “microfactories,” which are much smaller and relatively easier to set up than traditional manufacturing plants.
It was floated on the US Nasdaq stock market in 2021, at one point valued at $13bn (£9bn), making it the largest ever stock market listing for a British technology company at the time.
However, despite having already received an order for 10,000 vehicles from U.S. distribution giant UPS and receiving investment from both UPS and Hyundai, the company struggled to put the design into production.
Setbacks included a fire in one of the vans during a demonstration at the company's Banbury facility in November 2022.
Early last year, Arrival announced it would cut its 800-person workforce by half and move production from the UK to North Carolina in the US. The company still employs approximately 400 people worldwide.
However, the company continued to struggle to raise the necessary funds.
The company announced in late January that it had been told that trading in its shares on the Nasdaq market would be suspended and that it would be removed from the index.
“The Group's liquidity position has been affected by difficult market and macroeconomic conditions, which have resulted in delays in bringing the Group's products to market,” UK business administrator EY said. ”
“As such, the joint administrators are currently considering options to sell the businesses and assets of both companies.”
These assets include Arrival's electric vehicle design, which is currently for sale.
