Geely-backed electric vehicle maker Polestar Debuts on Nasdaq via SPAC merger
Geely-backed electric vehicle maker Polestar made their public-market debut on Nasdaq exchange, one day it completed its merger with the SPAC Gores Guggenheim on Thursday.
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger enables the company to finance $890 million. Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said the company will use the net proceeds from the deal to fund its three-year plan to build new vehicles.
SPAC deals have become increasingly popular for companies to go public in recent years because the requirement are simpler than those in a traditional initial public offering.
In 2021, Polestar sold a total of 29,000 vehicles, generating revenue of $1.3 billion. It aims to increase this number tenfold by 2025. It plans to achieve its aggressive growth by launching three new models by 2024. The three new models will be fully electric and all will be marketed in China, the U.S., and Europe.
Polestar has already launched two EV models, namely Polestar 1 and the Polestar 2.
Polestar 1, a plug-in hybrid performance sports car with a starting price of 1.45 million yuan ($216,050), was made in limited quantities (1,500 units) between 2019 and 2021.
The company currently mass-produces the Polestar 2, which is currently priced from 257,000 yuan.
In the first week of June, Polestar has announced its third model- Polestar 3, which is the company’s first sport utility vehicle and its first made in the US. The Polestar 3 marks Polestar’s attempt to break into the lucrative SUV market in the US. When it released in October 2022, it will compete against with EVs like the Tesla Model X, Audi E-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQE.
Polestar 3 will be assembled at Volvo’s factory in Charleston, South Carolina.
Polestar, which began as a joint venture between Sweden’s Volvo Cars and Chinese auto giant Geely in 2017, has set up an R&D center and two production bases in China. In addition to its Taizhou factory and Chengdu production base, Polestar is planning to build a new factory to manufacture its new EV models.