• Faction Technology (Faction), an autonomous delivery vehicle (ADV) developer, has unveiled its next-generation ADV dubbed “Faction D1” in partnership with electric vehicle manufacturer Arcimoto. 

• The vehicle is based on Arcimoto’s Fun Utility Vehicle (FUV) electric three-wheeler platform and is retrofitted with Faction’s autonomous technology “DriveLink” and remote human teleoperation system “TeleAssist.” It can carry a payload of up to 500 lbs and travel at a maximum speed of 75 mph, covering a range of up to 100 miles. The ADVs are also equipped with sensors and safety systems and come with configurable compartments to carry specialized cargo.

• The company expects to commence customer trials this year. Pre-production vehicles are now available for customers, with plans to open reservations for production scale models in 2023. The company plans to charge less than USD 2 per mile for deliveries

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: The news comes just one week after Faction partnered with ElectraMeccanica in a similar collaboration to retrofit the latter’s electric vehicle platforms with Faction’s self-driving technology. Not only Faction but many other peer startups and incumbents in the ADV space can be seen taking a similar approach to product development by retrofitting their self-driving technology into third-party vehicles. The list includes peers Wayve (who retrofits its tech into Online grocer Ocado’s delivery vehicles), Motional (retrofits all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5s), and incumbent Oxbotica (whose software is integrated into AppliedEV’s electric vehicle modular platform). Nuro , who develops both the autonomous tech and its own vehicle, also first piloted deliveries by retrofitting its self-driving tech into Toyota Prius Sedans.</ul>