One of the first prototypes of the Gamma electric van from the bankrupt UK startup Arrival is up for auction on the digital platform Ebay. British van maker Arrival was once valued in the billions of dollars, but the company is now effectively an empty shell. Its assets were sold to competitors at the beginning of this year.
Image source: eBay/constablergt
In January of this year, the British startup still hoped to launch the production of commercial electric vehicles at small enterprises located in close proximity to the main markets, but already in March it declared bankruptcy.
The owner of one of Arrival’s electric van prototypes says he worked for the company before it went bankrupt. According to him, the pre-production model “is the only known and fully operational Arrival Gamma van.” It was purchased in June at Arrival’s liquidation auction. The owner does not disclose the purchase price.
The electric van appears to be in good condition. It is equipped with electric sliding doors and a touch display on the instrument panel. Shelves for transporting goods are also in place. The owner assumes that the car can be used, for example, for camping. At the time of writing, the highest bid for an electric van was 5,900 British pounds (about $7,746).
Arrival was founded in 2015. It has built 25 electric vans for testing by 2021. The company has committed to replacing a fleet of 10,000 UPS vehicles in Europe and the United States with electric vehicles. Arrival’s available funds had dwindled to $205 million by the end of January 2023. The company subsequently focused only on the US market and noted plans to expand its electric vehicle fleet into electric buses and ride-sharing vehicles. The manufacturer continued to reduce costs, including by cutting staff, but declared bankruptcy in 2024.
Arrival’s attempt to make delivery vehicles more energy efficient and environmentally friendly was a noble idea. But Arrival is not the only company that has set such goals. For example, Amazon has a contract with electric van maker Rivian to build 100,000 vehicles for its delivery fleet by 2030. Ford also developed and released an all-electric E-Transit van for consumers and online retailers like Walmart. GM Corporation was also moving in this direction.