London-based Arrival has announced an order for 10,000 purpose-built electric vehicles (EVs) from multi-national delivery service United Parcel Service (UPS).

These will be rolled out in the UK, Europe and North America from 2020 to 2024 in a deal worth hundreds of millions of euros each year.

UPS has the option to purchase another 10,000 vehicles during this period (and its venture capital arm has invested an undisclosed amount in Arrival).

The vehicles will be built using Arrival’s new method of assembly in micro-factories located to serve local communities.

Denis Sverdlov, Arrival’s founder and CEO (www.arrival.com), said: “UPS has been a strong strategic partner of Arrival, providing valuable insight to how electric delivery vans are used on the road and how they can be optimised for drivers.

"Together, our teams have been creating bespoke EVs — based on our flexible skate-board platforms — that meet the end-to-end needs of UPS from driving, loading/unloading, depot and back office operations.

"This latest investment and vehicle order creates even closer ties between the two companies.”

Carlton Rose, UPS president (global fleet maintenance and engineering), said: “Our investment in and partnership with Arrival is directly aligned with our transformation strategy, led by the deployment of cutting-edge technologies.

"These vehicles will be among the world’s most advanced package delivery vehicles, redefining industry standards for electric, connected and intelligent vehicle solutions.”