Arrival to delay spending on bus project after posting wider loss

(Reuters) – British electric vehicle start-up Arrival SA reported a wider quarterly loss on Thursday and said it would delay spending on its bus project as it looks to secure more capital, sending its U.S-listed shares down 13%.

The news comes after the company laid out a plan last month to cut jobs and reorganize itself around making vans in the face of a challenging economic environment.

Electric vehicle startups that promised to disrupt the automotive industry are now scrambling to keep a lid on costs amid supply chain issues and rising raw material prices.

London-based Arrival, which expects to start producing its vans in the third quarter and deliver them by the year-end, had received the EU’s approval to operate its electric buses on public roads.

Top boss Denis Sverdlov, however, said the company would defer spending on bus-producing “microfactories” and customer trials until it secures additional capital.

The company’s net loss in the second quarter widened to $89.6 million from $56.2 million a year earlier.

Arrival shares were trading at $1.61 in morning session.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)