The rise of the electric car has encouraged many countries without automobile tradition prior to embarking on the adventure of having their own brands and models. This is how we have seen it in recent months, for example, with Saudi Arabia.
Now, the latest initiative of this type comes from Canada. A country that, although it does not have autochthonous manufacturers, does, on the other hand, have a powerful auxiliary industrycomponents and services that supplies mainly to the manufacturers of the USA that we all know like Ford or GM.
Wanting to take advantage of all this experience and ‘know how’, the Canadian Automobile Parts Manufacturers Association (AMPA) launched its ‘Project Arrow’ in 2020, with the intention of creating an electric and autonomous car in SUV formatdeveloped and produced 100% in the country.
A concept with a futuristic vocation
In addition to the ‘renders’ that can be viewed on the website of the project the Arrow already exists as a concept modelwhich was exhibited at the recent CES 2023. This allows us to get an approximate idea of both its appearance and its technologies.
Thus, the car appears to us from the outside as a certainly futuristic SUV, with a very high beltline and a profile inevitably reminiscent of a Range Rover Evoque, especially with the contrasting gloss black roof. A solid-looking front includes the Led lighting signature, which joins both optics end-to-end.
But the really interesting thing begins when the doors open in rhythm, revealing an interior that, despite its minimalist inspiration, comes well stocked with space for passengers and holes to deposit objects.
Newspress
Its creators are still unclear how to feed the car’s electric propulsion system, debating between a conventional battery or a hydrogen fuel cell (In the style of the Toyota Mirai) What they do want is to achieve a convincing range figure for potential buyers, which could be estimated at around 500 km.
APMA
The other key aspect of the Arrow will be its autonomous driving capabilities. Equipped with LiDAR and advanced sensors and cameras, the AMPA hopes to achieve a level of practically total autonomy, between SAE ratings 4 and 5. This would allow you to stop worrying about driving and turn this electric SUV into a mobile lounge, turning the front seats towards the center of the cabin.
APMA
After exposing this first sketch, the AMPA is working to build a first truly functional prototype before the end of the year. The ultimate goal is to achieve mass manufacturing of the Arrow, something that this association hopes to be able to do from 2025.
This is the ‘Project Arrow’, the first electric SUV developed by Canada