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Arrival’s Electric Van: What Happened to Its Public-Road Trials?

Arrival’s 2021 public-road trial announcement was a forecast. Later updates reported road testing and internal trials, but did not confirm the start of customer trials.
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Arrival announced in March 2021 that its electric Van was expected to begin public-road trials with key customers that summer. That was a forecast, not confirmation that customer trials started then. Arrival later moved the planned UPS trials to 2022 and subsequently reported public-road testing and internal trials; its updates do not establish that the scheduled Central London customer trials took place.

What Arrival announced in March 2021

On March 3, 2021, Arrival unveiled updated specifications and images of its Van and said public-road trials with key customers were expected to begin in summer 2021. The announcement described a development milestone and a forward-looking schedule, not a confirmed trial start date. Arrival’s announcement

Arrival said the Van had a payload of 1,975 kg and cargo volume of 2.4 m³ per metre of length. Those are company-stated figures from 2021; the announcement does not provide an independent test or a method for calculating the cargo-volume ratio. They should not be treated as independently verified comparisons with other vans.

How the testing timetable changed

Date Arrival’s reported plan or status What it establishes
March 3, 2021 Public-road trials with key customers expected that summer. A plan announced by Arrival, not proof the trials began. Arrival
August 12, 2021 Arrival said public-road trials with UPS for the Van were to commence in Q1 2022. A revised schedule; the release does not confirm that UPS trials actually started then. Arrival Q2 2021 results, filed with the SEC
May 10, 2022 Arrival said the final prototype Van build was complete and vehicle testing had commenced on public roads. It also said more than 70% of Van certification tests had been passed. Company-reported development and testing milestones. The certification percentage is Arrival’s figure, not an independent assessment. Arrival Q1 2022 results, filed with the SEC
August 11, 2022 Arrival said vans were being tested on public roads and Central London customer trials were scheduled to commence during that quarter. It also reported European Whole Vehicle Type Approval for the Van. Evidence of reported road testing and a planned customer trial, but not confirmation that the scheduled customer trial took place. Arrival Q2 2022 results, filed with the SEC

Did Arrival’s customer trials actually start?

The available company updates do not establish an exact start date for a customer trial. They distinguish between several stages: the original summer 2021 plan, the later plan for UPS trials in Q1 2022, company-reported public-road testing by May 2022, and a Central London customer trial scheduled for that year’s third quarter. Arrival’s August 2022 CEO statement referred to “successful internal trials” of the Van and Bus on public roads. Internal testing is not the same as a completed customer trial.

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What the announcements do—and do not—say about the Van

The releases document Arrival’s stated development, testing and certification progress. They do not, on their own, verify serial production, commercial customer availability or independently measured vehicle performance. Nor do the cited specifications provide a like-for-like comparison with competing electric vans. A meaningful fleet comparison would need consistent figures for payload, cargo-volume measurement, dimensions, certification market, availability and total cost of ownership.

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Later UK company records

UK Companies House records show Arrival Automotive UK Limited entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation on August 6, 2025, and Arrival UK Ltd moved from administration to dissolution on July 1, 2026. These are records for two UK subsidiaries; they do not establish the legal status of every entity or asset associated with Arrival worldwide. Companies House: Arrival Automotive UK Limited; Companies House: Arrival UK Ltd

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