BlackRock invests £90m in UK electric vehicle startup

BlackRock (BLK) has invested $118m (£90m) in Arrival, a British electric vehicles maker that will use the funds to support growth plans as it ramps up production.

In a statement, the startup explained it has rapidly scalable ‘microfactories’ “that can be placed anywhere in the world to serve the regions they are located in.”

Denis Sverdlov, founder and CEO of Arrival, said “This additional capital will be invested into Arrival’s growth, as we deepen and expand our presence in the US and other new markets globally. With our new microfactory in South Carolina, we are looking forward to partnering with more cities and companies to create a sustainable future.”

The new funding will support Arrival’s plans to scale its microfactory footprint in both the US and Europe. As part of its US strategy, the company announced this week the launch of its first US microfactory in York County, South Carolina, an investment of $46m into the region and the creation of local jobs.

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Arrival will begin fitting out the unit and is expected to begin operations in Q2 next year, with start of production in Q4.

BlackRock joins other strategic investors in the company including Hyundai (HYMTF), Kia (000270.KS) and logistics company UPS (UPS).

Arrival has also received an order of 10,000 electric vans from UPS. It believes this investment is a reflection of the market opportunity for electric vehicles, particularly in the commercial segment.

At the beginning of the year, Larry Fink, the billionaire CEO of BlackRock, urged CEOs in his annual letter to take action on climate change as doing nothing would be a long-term investment issue.

Meanwhile, earlier this week it was reported that, according to new research, two in five UK drivers do not know there is a government grant available for buying an electric car.

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The plug-in grant offers savings of up to 35% off the purchase price of qualifying vehicles, up to a maximum of £3,000.

With the average cost of an electric car currently up to double that of a standard vehicle, it’s a purchase beyond the means of many drivers, which is why the government launched the grant in March, to encourage the purchase of low-emissions cars.

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