Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) launched the first, original, full-build, electric concept vehicle named Project Arrow. Hitting the market in December 2022, this is the first EV designed and manufactured entirely in Canada.
The sleek, silver exterior and slim lights might not stand out from the crowd in the electric vehicle space. But it does have one thing going for it: every part is made and designed in Canada. Because of that, production costs (if it were to be mass-produced) would be between $40,000 and $60,000 per vehicle. That’s a substantial chunk of change.
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But AMPA is undeterred. With the help of nearly eight million dollars in government funding, Project Arrow plans to build roughly 50,000 vehicles a year. Canadians certainly seem keen on going green.
Even if Canada can’t compete price-wise with the other major players, it might provide better quality. Flavio Volpe, project director, said this is their opportunity to “show the world that we built a quality product from start to finish.”
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Another advantage on Canada’s side is that its land is rich in natural resources, such as lithium, to make components at a mass scale. There’s also a sturdy labour force of IT workers and companies in Toronto to contribute advanced software and AI integral to electric vehicles.
“We have mobility software, AI, machine learning, all the lithium to turn into batteries … I hope this inspires a startup culture. No one else is doing this.”
Project Arrow is currently on track to engineer and build its first models by the end of the year. Investors will then see it up close at auto shows worldwide in 2023.