Project Arrow is led by Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA)
Reveal of the concept should happen at the CES show in January 2023
Every component of the vehicle will be Canadian sourced, even the battery
Despite not having any native car brands, Canada has a large automotive manufacturing industry that is fed by a number of auto parts suppliers, who want to use the current electric vehicle boom as an opportunity to create a fully Canadian vehicle.
The project, called Arrow, is led by the APMA, Canada’s Auto Parts Manufacturers’ Association, which represents 90% of all of the companies that supply automakers with parts and components used in their Canadian factories.
Project Arrow will be an electric SUV that claims to use some innovative design solutions. Indeed, the first images that have been revealed show a prototype with sliding rear doors, but also sliding front doors, whose production is not guaranteed.
Project Arrow | Photo: Project Arrow
In addition, the vehicle will feature a simple design that leaves out unnecessary parts and will use structural features as a part of this design instead of hiding them behind plastic.
The APMA’s Chief Technical Officer said the vehicle will be made from eight mega-stampings that will be laser-welded together and its front and rear frames should be made from magnesium castings, in a similar way to the Tesla Model Y. Talking of Tesla, the Arrow is intended to sit between the Model Y and the Model X in terms of size.
Project Arrow | Photo: Project Arrow
The cylindrical-cell battery used in the project Arrow will also be made in Canada, by VoltaXplore, a joint venture between Martinrea International and NanoXplore Inc. a Montreal graphene firm.
Other technologies will be developed in partnership with the Automotive Center of Excellence of the Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, a city with a deep connection to the automotive industry, as it is the birth place of General Motors of Canada.
Project Arrow | Photo: Project Arrow
The project will benefit from the participation of over 400 Canadian companies and the financial support of the federal government, which recently invested nearly $4 million in Project Arrow.
The first prototype is expected to be on the road in about a year and the public launch is set to take place at the CES in January 2023, after which the electric SUV should become available to the public for a price ranging from $40,000 to $60,000.
