Electric car maker Polestar, controlled by Sweden’s Volvo Cars and its Chinese owner Geely, said on Monday it plans to travel public during a stock exchange debut that would value it at around $20 billion (17 billion euros).
Polestar, an eu competitor to Tesla, said during a statement it might be wont to “help fund significant investment within the expansion of its products, operations and markets to make a number one company within the rapidly growing global premium electric vehicle market.”
While Polestar — whose shareholders include US movie star Leonardo DiCaprio — has only produced two models since being found out in 2017, its market capitalization would place it just behind giant Nissan, and before carmakers Renault and Subaru.
Tesla is that the highest-valued carmaker within the world, with a market capitalization of quite $750 billion — quite 3 times that of Toyota or Volkswagen, which both sell more cars.
The listing are going to be administered by combining Polestar with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Gores Guggenheim, found out by US investment firms The Gores Group and Guggenheim Capital and is predicted within the half of 2022.
The newly formed company are going to be named Polestar Automotive Holding UK Limited.
Founded by Volvo and Geely four years ago, Polestar sold only 10,000 vehicles in 2020, but is targeting annual unit sales of around 290,000 by 2025.
Its current model is that the Polestar 2, with plans to launch the Polestar 3 next year.
The $20-billion market capitalization is like 3 times the targeted revenue in 2023 and 1.5 times expected sales in 2024, the corporate said.
That compares with a market capitalization of $40 billion for US start-up Lucid Motors and around $30 billion for China’s Xpeng.
Together with battery maker Northvolt, the corporate is that the Swedish flagship within the electric sector.
– Bumpy ride? –
While a clutch of latest faces have emerged within the electric vehicle market recently, some have had a bumpy ride.
The Californian pickup manufacturer Rivian, backed by Ford and Amazon, should soon join them with a robust capitalisation.
“The transition to electric vehicles is generating tons of market enthusiasm,” said analyst Alexandre Marian of AlixPartners.
“In some cases, very high valuations suggested that the expansion trajectory would be faster than Tesla. But the danger is high … it’s extremely complicated to grow as a car maker .”
China’s Li Auto raised $1.1 billion from its Nasdaq debut last year, on the other hand saw its share price tumble in Hong Kong last month amid tech regulatory crackdowns from Beijing.
US electric pick-up constructor Lordstown Motors, for its part, announced in June it didn’t have the funds to supply a vehicle on a billboard scale.
Its general director stepped down days afterwards on the assembly woes but also amid allegations he and other executives had given inaccurate information about pre-orders.
“It’s really harder for alittle firm to succeed” within the auto industry as “fixed costs are very high”, explains Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds.
They require not only an outsized factory, but also a reliable supply chain for parts.
Polestar brings with it the “dynamism of a young enterprise”, and also benefits from “the industrial heritage and expertise of Volvo,” chief executive Thomas Ingenlath told investors.
Polestar, initially a hybrid sports car for Volvo Cars, became a separate brand in 2017.
In order to realize its ambitious expansion goals, the marque intends to launch a model annually over subsequent three years — a luxury sports SUV is predicted to follow Polestar 2 next year with Polestar 4 a luxury saloon.
It also plans to push a web presence and open variety of concessions in large urban centres, while making use of Volvo’s after-sales network.
