This past August, the government of Canada pledged $5 million towards development of a Canadian-made all-electric vehicle, part of what’s known as Project Arrow, the brainchild of the Automotive Parts Manufacturer’s Assocation (APMA). The project, as you may have guessed, is named in honour of the Avro Arrow Interceptor fighter plan produced (in prototype form) in Canada in the 1950s.
This weekend, Quebec’s provincial government stepped up with its own commitment of $1.4 million in investments earmarked for small and medium-sized companies who would supply components and technologies for future Canadian-made EVs, including Project Arrow’s compact SUV concept.
Those technologies would include connected or autonomous zero-emission automotive components and systems.
APMA president Flavio Volpe explained that given Quebec’s abundance of natural resources and leadership in the development of electric mobility, the province is essential to the development of clean mobility and related technologies within Canada.
The Quebec government’s commitment calls for the granting of funds to eligible applicants within the next 18 months, up to a total of $1.4 million, with no individual applicant able to claim more than $350,000 (or one-quarter of the total available amount). Applications must also be potentially eligible for the APMA’s Project Arrow initiative.
All requests must be submitted in French and sent via email no later than midnight on Oct. 31, 2021.
The APMA’s Project Arrow initiative consists of four phases, the first two of which have already been completed and involved a design competition (won by Carleton University’s School of Industrial Design) and the release of engineering specifications. Phase 3 calls for the unveiling of a first concept or design study, while in Phase 4 we will get an actual, functional prototype. That’s expected to happen sometime in 2022.
After that, if there is sufficient interest among investors and if several other variables fall into place, we could theoretically see an all-Canadian all-electric vehicle go into production sometime between 2023 and 2025.
