Moscow Department of Transport plans to test electric buses produced by a British startup
Arrival, a British startup, which produces electric vehicles for large cities, may launch production in Moscow.
«Our goal is to help cities develop sustainably by launching innovative electric vehicles that are produced at local micro-factories. Moscow is one of the largest markets for electric buses in Europe. The opportunity to locate production here is potentially interesting for us. A micro-factory in Moscow will be able to produce up to 1 000 modern, comfortable and high-tech electric buses annually. In addition, it will provide jobs for Muscovites,» — shared in Arrival.
«We are discussing with the possibility of testing Arrival electric buses in Moscow. We are highly interested as we have a clear plan for the transition to electric transport approved by the government. Arrival will be able to supply us with electric buses only if they locate their production in Russia. It is very important for us that our vehicles are locally-produced,» — added Maksim Liksutov, the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport.
Arrival talked about micro-factories in the company’s blog in September 2020: unlike traditional assembly lines, production involves an assembly process based on «cells». Such a factory could be housed in a regular warehouse and start production within six months, the company said.
At the same time, the costs of building the plant are being reduced from «hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars» to «tens of millions of dollars,» according to Arrival. Reduced capital costs contribute to lower cost of vehicles.
