Arkansas Governor sets goals for Council on Future Mobility

Little Rock, Arkansas — On Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the creation of the Arkansas Council for Future Mobility.

“There are moments throughout history that change the course of humanity, and I believe we are emerging in such a time,” said Cyrus Sigari, the co-founder of Up Partners.

The thought is that Arkansas will take over as the leader of smart mobility and some companies are already planting roots in the state. One of their goals is to bring these innovating companies into the state, like Envirotech Vehicles, Inc.

Sue Emry, executive vice president of the company said: “So we currently manufacture out of California and so we’re super excited about bringing that to Arkansas,”.

The company is in the process of building a new plant in Osceola which will bring around 800 jobs to the area over the next 10 years. “We picked Arkansas because really the people and the source of local products, steel here. Arkansas has everything to make a vehicle and no vehicle manufacturer,” Emry said.

According to the Governor, the goal of the council is to make sure Arkansas is prepared for the switching to electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and advanced air mobility.

It will greatly increase the availability of jobs in STEM and create $3.6 billion in new economic activity and related stimulus.