PROJECT ARROW, A SHOWCASE OF CANADIAN AUTOMOTIVE EXPERTISE

By Isabelle Havasy

Debuting at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the Arrow project is embarking on a two-year tour of various trade shows, technology demonstration centres and OEM visits.

“The Prime Minister challenged us to imagine Canada’s net zero mobility future and the Premier of Ontario challenged us to build it. Today, we are unveiling Project Arrow to the world, with 25 new technologies,” stated Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturer’s Association (APMA), which initiated the project, in a release.

The project took three years to take shape. Funded to the tune of $8.2 million by the federal, Ontario and Quebec governments, Arrow is the result of collaboration between more than 50 Canadian suppliers. The prototype, designed, developed and manufactured in Canada, serves to showcase our expertise in automotive know-how.

Quebec suppliers include wheel manufacturer Fastco Canada, graphene company NanoXplore, battery supplier VoltaXplore and Leddartech, whose technology enables the vehicle to achieve Level 3 autonomous driving. Almost all of the components of the four-passenger crossover SUV were made in Canada, except for the cabin’s touchscreen, which was sourced from China’s Lenovo because, according to Volpe, no company in the country makes such parts.