Electric vehicle maker adding more jobs, opening third Charlotte facility
Arrival, a British electric vehicle company, is expanding yet again in Charlotte, adding 150 jobs and investing $11.5 million in a battery module production facility off Yorkmont Road.
It’s the latest announcement from the London-based firm that has brought hundreds of jobs to the region in recent years. Arrival is also opening a microfactory in Rock Hill, S.C., another near Charlotte Douglas International Airport and its North American headquarters in South End.
Arrival, founded in 2015, manufactures electric buses and vans. The new facility will produce battery modules — a set of software-enabled batteries — to be used in its vehicles.
The latest expansion is a “big milestone” for Arrival as it prepares to start production at its Rock Hill facility in the second quarter of next year, Mike Ableson, CEO of Arrival Automotive, said. “We’re excited to add another facility in Charlotte.”
The 150 new jobs will primarily be composed of operator roles and will pay an average wage of $54,700.
The expansion qualifies Arrival for combined tax incentives of up to $394,477 from the city and county, a city spokesperson confirmed. The state also awarded the company a customized training grant through the North Carolina Community College System.
It’s been about a year since Arrival said it would open its U.S. headquarters in Charlotte. The company will occupy a 43,000 square feet, three-story building in South End at the corner of South Tryon Street and West Tremont Avenue.
That headquarters is slated to open sometime this spring, an Arrival spokesperson confirmed.
Aside from the headquarters, the facility announced Monday will be the company’s third in the region. When the expansion is complete, Arrival will have about 800 employees in the Charlotte area, with a total investment of more than $100 million.
This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 12:53 PM.
