Arrival SA (NASDAQ:ARVL), the British electric van manufacturer, revealed its UK operations entered administration on Tuesday.
Administrators EY are exploring the possibility of selling the business.
Of the around 170 workers employed by the UK arm of Arrival, 40 members have been made redundant, while others are staying on to help with the potential sale and transition of the company.
Once valued at £9 billion and favoured by ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Banbury-based company faced significant challenges in its plan to bring its electric vans, buses and taxis to the market at a relatively low cost.
Arrival aimed to approach electric vehicle (EV) production with its ‘micro-factory’ concept, intended for simpler, more cost-effective manufacturing at a smaller scale.
Founded in 2015 by Russian billionaire Denis Sverdlov, the company garnered attention over its potential to become a champion for the UK in the EV market.
It launched on the Nasdaq in 2021, where it reached its peak valuation of US$13 billion, marking the largest initial public offering (IPO) for a UK tech firm at the time.
However, Arrival struggled operationally and shares in the company plummeted over 99%, leaving the company with a market valuation of US$2.76 million.
While the firm received orders from US distributor UPS and investments from Hyundai, production hurdles, including a fire at its Banbury facility in November 2022, hampered progress.
In the last year, Arrival cut its global workforce by half from 800 employees and said it would shift production from the UK to North Carolina, USA.
Still, the company faced difficulties in securing necessary funding.
As of January's end, Arrival's shares were suspended from Nasdaq trading, with impending removal from the index.
The administration, led by EY, cited tough market conditions and macroeconomic factors delaying product market entry as key issues.
"As such, the joint administrators are now exploring options for the sale of the business and assets of the companies," EY administrators said.