Project Arrow, backed by its many Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) partners, a few universities and the Governments of Canada and Ontario, unveiled its high-tech concept car at CES in Las Vegas on January 5, 2023.
“Today’s unveiling is the culmination of years of collaborative work by the team to develop Canada’s first zero emissions concept vehicle,” said Colin Singh Dhillon, chief technical officer (CTO) at APMA. “We aim to have automobile manufacturers adopt its components for their large volume models.”
The concept vehicle is an all-Canadian effort. It was designed, engineered and built through the joint efforts of 50 companies in our world-class automotive supply sector and post-secondary institutions. Project Arrow brought together the best of Canada’s technology companies and their intellectual property for:
- Electric-drivetrain.
- Alternative-fuel components.
- Connected vehicle components and software.
- Autonomous vehicle components and software.
- Light-weight materials.
Among various innovations, it’s the first-ever vehicle to incorporate a fully 3D-printed chassis, produced by the Xaba Intelligent Machine using advanced composite materials. Meta Materials Inc. contributed its NANOWEB high-performance materials and nanocomposites.
The motivation for the significant scope, effort and multi-million dollar investment in Project Arrow is to retain and perhaps grow the Canadian automotive industry. The number of automobiles assembled in Canada has been declining over many years. The industry is the midst of a wrenching change as it retools from producing gasoline-powered cars to producing electric, hybrid and perhaps hydrogen vehicles.
The Canadian auto industry built the car to showcase its ability to manufacture electric vehicles. In 2023, the concept vehicle will tour key North American automotive industry centers to encourage companies to incorporate its many components into their designs. Adoption saves automakers development costs and elapsed time. There are no plans to build the car.
APMA, Canada’s industry association representing OEM producers of parts, equipment, tools, supplies, advanced technology, and services for the worldwide automotive industry, previously launched a fleet of demonstration vehicles in Stratford, Ontario, as part of Ontario’s Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network and is currently working with more than 90 auto tech startups.