Windsor, Ontario — Project Arrow, the zero-emissions concept car initiative driven by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) is getting $5 million in federal funding.
“This is a huge announcement; this is really ground-breaking,” Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk said Wednesday in Windsor alongside the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) investment announcement. “We’re seeing the automotive sector going through a huge transition right now.”
The APMA includes 90 percent of all auto-parts makers in Canada, and the organization is already working on a physical prototype of the vehicle at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa. The WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation’s virtual reality CAVE is being utilized to engineer a virtual model of the fully rendered Arrow vehicle.
A statement from Fedev Ontario said the $5 million will support 80 jobs, and as many as 40 auto suppliers and technology firms.
Flavio Volpe, APMA president said the funding will be vital for integrating the technology in one vehicle and constructing a digital match of the model by the end of 2021.
“The government’s investment today is proof, at least in their eyes, that we are an effective vehicle for economic development for this industry in this region,” he said. “This lighthouse project is highlighting hundreds of advanced technology companies around the world and will serve as the calling card for the next generation of leadership in Canadian zero-emissions mobility.”
