Automotive News Canada - January 2023 - 4

4
* JANUARY 2023
PROJECT
ARROW
The radical concept was
not built by a car company
to appeal to consumers,
but by Canadian suppliers
to appeal to car companies
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
AN UNCONVENTIONAL ELECTRICvehicle
prototype, with rear-hinged doors
splayed open and an unfamiliar badge
emblazoned on the hood, made its global
debut at CES in Las Vegas on Jan. 5.
Not built by an automaker, Project
Arrow is the eye-catching culmination
of three years of collaborative work by
nearly 60 Canadian parts suppliers and
their association. The drivable concept
serves as a rolling showcase for the country's
automotive know-how, according
to the Automotive Parts Manufacturers'
Association (APMA), the driving force
behind the project.
" The prime minister dared us to imagine
Canada's net-zero mobility future,
and the premier of Ontario challenged
us to build it, " APMA President Flavio
Volpe said in a release. " Today ... we reveal
Project Arrow to the world, with 25 new
technologies. "
With the exception of a made-in-China
Lenovo touch screen, every component for
the two-motor, all-wheel drive four-seat
crossover was built in Canada. An exhaustive
search found no screen manufacturLIVES
At
the soft-launch event in December,
APMA President Flavio Volpe said that
Project Arrow's main purpose is to give the
companies involved a platform to highlight
their automotive expertise.
PHOTO: APMA
The only component, other than microchips, not built
in Canada is the Lenovo touch screen. The APMA
could not source a Canadian supplier. Note the woven
material on the steering wheel and the column of
Project Arrow. PHOTO: APMA
ers operating in Canada,
Volpe said.
Suppliers include
Quebec wheel manufacturer
Fastco Canada;
Bongiovi Acoustic Labs,
which provides speakerless
audio systems; and battery
supplier VoltaXplore,
a joint venture between
Martinrea International
Inc. and graphene company
NanoXplore Inc.
A suite of technology
providers, including
the cybersecurity company
Cybeats Technologies
Inc. and the cybersecurity
CES marks the beginning of a two-year
tour for Project Arrow, said APMA
President Flavio Volpe, including
" direct visits to OEMs. "
PHOTO: APMA
The prime minister dared us to
imagine Canada's net-zero mobility
future and the premier of Ontario
challenged us to build it. Today ...
we reveal Project Arrow to the
world, with 25 new technologies. "
Flavio Volpe
President, Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association
Project Arrow is intended to be a running and driving concept
vehicle. It has dual electric motors and all-wheel drive.
PHOTO: APMA VIA LINKEDIN
firms Akimbo Technologies and
Autocrypt Co., are also represented.
Volpe
estimated the project
cost about $20 million, with
about 60 per cent coming from
industry.
534 COMPANIES BECAME 58
Project Arrow has four radar
and two lidar sensors and five
cameras. The suite of sensors,
backed by technology from
Quebec-based LeddarTech, provides
Level 3 autonomous handsfree
driving in limited conditions.
The
four-passenger Project Arrow's rear doors are rear-hinged and latch to a large vertical
support. Note the upper and lower storage of the centre console.
PHOTO: INVEST WINDSORESSEX
The 58 suppliers with products
on the assembled prototype
come from a pool of 534 companies
that originally expressed
interest in participating in
Project Arrow. The APMA qualified
230 of the original list as
capable of delivering, Volpe said,
but the trade association could
not include them all.
Project Arrow, which takes
its name from the ill-fated
Canadian-made Avro Arrow
supersonic jet of the late 1950s,
is built to 2025 model-year
motor-vehicle safety specifications.
The initiative is the " biggest
industrial collaboration
project in Canadian automotive
history, " the APMA said.
The trade association has
not disclosed the total cost, but
Ottawa awarded the APMA $5
million for work on the vehicle
through FedDev Ontario, the
SEE PROJECT ARROW PAGE 11
Automotive News Canada - January 2023

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