Project Arrow 2.0 will target more than just traditional auto industry

The Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association is adding not one but several more Arrows to its quiver.

After what it considers the resounding success of Project Arrow, an all-Canadian, all-electric vehicle built by 60 Canada-based suppliers, the APMA plans to have far more suppliers build a fleet of as many as 20 similar vehicles. APMA President Flavio Volpe said the first-edition Arrow landed its suppliers $500 million worth of new business.

The original Project Arrow, unveiled in January 2023 after two years of development, was a $20-million venture that saw contributions from the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network, FedDev Ontario, and Investissement Quebec, and 60 private-sector companies, most of which supply the auto industry. 

Volpe called it “a rolling business card” for the Canadian auto industry. By 2026, the APMA could have as many as 20 cards to roll around the globe.

Volpe said the biggest impact of Project Arrow was to be able to give smaller parts makers “the type of exposure some suppliers, like Magna, Linamar, Martinrea and Woodbridge get on their own.”

The APMA made the Project Arrow 2.0 announcement Wednesday at the COP28 Climate Conference in Dubai.

Project Arrow 2.0 will take a similar approach but lean on even more suppliers and educational institutions than previous production did. Adding more vehicles means adding more suppliers. Hundreds were cut from the original project. This time around, each vehicle could have the same part, but built by a different supplier. 

Volpe said “hundreds of suppliers instead of dozens of suppliers” will work on the next iteration, and that the APMA could have built “three or four” the first time if they used every supplier that applied to participate.

He said the next edition plans to address more than just vehicle manufacturing. Volpe calls it “an ecosystem play.”

“Project Arrow 2.0 aims to address Canada’s electric vehicle ecosystem's pressing challenges, including supply chain disruptions, mineral production capacity, and cybersecurity threats,” the APMA said in a news release. “This next phase aspires to be a multisectoral innovation hub, using a fleet of specially designed vehicles to foster advancements in EV technology and policy development.”

The APMA plans to seek “innovative sub-assembly methods and advanced manufacturing technologies” for assembly of the vehicle. And, it says it will work with municipalities and academic institutions “to provide a testbed for research and a cooperative network to tackle ecosystem challenges.”

The fleet of vehicles, from the outside, will look like the original Arrow. Money won’t be spent on designing a new body or frame.

“We will be progressing the technology within the vehicle,” Volpe said. “We will be exploring all the advancements in materials sciences, propulsion technology, collective autonomous vehicles, and different ergonomic configurations.”

With the vehicle already designed and prototype built, the next vehicles will focus on improvements such as light-weighting, software and cybersecurity.

“There are two halves to this. One is for the suppliers and the other half is for all those technology companies, and all those ecosystem partners that have been banging on our door for the last year,” Volpe said.

Request for proposals open at CES in Las Vegas in January 2024.