When it comes to fleet electrification, it takes an ecosystem of service providers and even new ways of service provision to expand fleet penetration of EVs.

With this in mind, Arrival — makers of modular skateboard platforms to accommodate purpose-build electric vehicles — announced initial partners for its Service Network Program.

The Service Network Program will use the company’s digital Service Platform to train and certify any technician to service its vehicles, the company said in a statement.

The Service Platform uses data from Arrival’s vehicles and proprietary algorithms to enable existing service providers to repair and maintain its electric vans and buses. This will utilize existing networks of technicians and workshops, Arrival said.

Arrival has established four initial partners in the U.S.: Amerit Fleet Solutions, Bridgestone Retail Operations, Napa Auto Parts, and Valvoline. The four initial partners in the E.U. are ARC Europe Group, Kwik Fit, Rivus Fleet Solutions, and ZF.

Partners will have access to repair and maintenance documentation, in-person and online training, predictive and automated diagnostics, and the distribution of spare parts.

“We’re aiming to fundamentally change the way that maintenance, service and repair is performed using in-house software to create a next generation experience for our customers,” said Serge Sulgin, CEO of Arrival Solutions. “The Arrival Service Platform will provide a marketplace to connect EV users with skilled and certified service providers, giving them an end-to-end solution for the newest and most advanced products in their fleet and allowing us to scale our service network quickly and on-demand to meet our customers wherever they are. It will also give our partners the opportunity to upskill their workforce for the future of mobility.”

Service Platform Details

The Service Platform starts at the vehicle level, where onboard sensors and embedded software analyze the state of the vehicle and its components. This vehicle-specific information is maintained in the cloud, creating a real-time picture of the vehicle that allows Arrival to remotely determine which component needs service.

Then, the Platform takes into account all the operations that are required to repair a vehicle based on the data received and builds a work package determined by the criticality of the issue, the parts needed, the skill levels of the technician required, and any additional supporting material needed.

Customers will either be presented with scheduling options or an automatic selection based on their predefined criteria, and the Platform will present resources to perform the repair.

Arrival service engineers located strategically across markets remain on standby to provide remote support via chat and live sessions using smart glasses, or in-person if needed.

Amerit is suited to scale maintenance and repair services to Arrival customers with over 1,500 trained and certified technicians across the U.S., Arrival said in the statement.

Arrival said it will continue to add partners to the network as production continues.