UPS Getting 10,000 Electric Delivery Vans; Take That, Postal Service

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

U.K.-based startup Arrival, which has signed a contract with UPS for 10,000 delivery vans, has announced plans to open a second microfactory in the United States in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area not too far from its first one, in York County, South Carolina. The new plant will produce electric delivery vans for the United Parcel Service (UPS), the company said.

The startup company last year shared images of its toaster-shaped electric van, which will be based on a skateboard platform of Arrival's own design and will have a range of about 150 miles on a full charge. The vans will be aimed at last-mile delivery rather than interstate travel between UPS hubs and will feature composite bodies. The vans were designed with a lot of input from UPS, of course, but they could be used by a number of other logistics giants and even smaller businesses that do daily deliveries in a set geographic area.

This new microfactory will start building the vans late next year. The tactic behind Arrival's microfactories, as opposed to a conventional assembly plant, is to reduce costs via a new cell-based assembly technique versus a traditional production line. In this manner Arrival says it will reduce production footprint and cost while being able to produce different vehicles from its lineup on a smaller stage—and will thus make them more affordable for end users as well. The microfactory approach is also designed for the company to achieve profitability at an earlier stage, due to the decreased capital required to get a site up and running.

"Our newest microfactory will be producing two different classes of EV vans for our U.S. customers, expanding the zero-emissions options for fleet operators and accelerating the mass adoption of electric vehicles," said Michael Ableson, CEO of Arrival Automotive."We are pleased to increase our investment as we extend our partnership with the city of Charlotte and believe we will continue to see strong demand for our vehicles as more operators transition to electric."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/ups-getting-10-000-electric-delivery-vans-take-that-postal-service/ar-BB1eOvZ8?li=BBnb4R5&ocid=DELLDHP

[hlthe2b]

1. "Take that USPS?" really, Car & Driver? If we'd not been @ the mercy of Trump's dismantling of USPS

we would likely have them too. we still can if Pres. Biden succeeds in removing DeJoy and that entire corrupt Board of Governors. It is not the fault of rank and file USPS nor middle management that things suck so much right now. Let's keep the real issue in focus.

[bullimiami]

2. Exactly. USPS. Our USPS. Deserves a new fleet. They have been limping along.

[Jirel]

3. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

We want those for USPS. But if not, let’s settle for dropping the stupid advance funding of pensions and support the hell out of them!

[bronxiteforever]

4. +1 exactly.