Almost 200 jobs on the line as British arm of electric vehicle firm Arrival collapses into administration

The British arm of electric car firm Arrival has collapsed into administration, putting nearly 200 jobs at risk.

Administrators from auditing group EY said they are looking to sell the business and assets of the two UK units.

The companies – Arrival UK Ltd and Arrival Automotive Limited – employed 172 staff in total.

Of those, 39 workers have already been made redundant. The remaining 133 employees have been retained to help with a potential sale.

Arrival, which has 400 staff members globally, was delisted from New York’s Nasdaq exchange last week after failing to file annual accounts for 2022. 

The electric vehicle (EV) start-up has struggled because of higher interest rates and production costs over the last year, as well as a squeeze on funding.

The company warned in November 2022 that it was at risk of running out of money but failed to raise extra cash. 

Last year Arrival refocused its operations on the US and the production of an electric delivery van to be sold there.

An EY spokesman said yesterday: ‘[Arrival’s] liquidity position has been impacted by challenging market and macroeconomic conditions resulting in delays in getting the group’s products to market. 

As such, the joint administrators are now exploring options for the sale of the business and assets of the companies, including its electric vehicle platforms, software, intellectual property and R&D assets, for the benefit of creditors.’

Other EV firms including battery maker Proterra and electric truck firm Volta have gone bankrupt in recent months.