EV maker Polestar raises $850 million via Nasdaq SPAC listing

Polestar now joins the list of EV makers to list via a SPAC as the wars both on and off the road heat up.
EV maker Polestar raises $850 million via Nasdaq SPAC listing

Beginning life as a racing skunkworks project in 1996, In 2017, Polestar was established as a new, standalone Swedish EV manufacturer founded by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding and today, counts no less than 55,000 of its creations touring tarmacs around the globe.

Enlisting the help of SPAC Gores Guggenheim, a vehicle comprised of affiliates of The Gores Group and Guggenheim Partners, according to a CNBC report, “the company will use the roughly $850 million raised from the deal to fund its three-year plan to build new vehicles and eventually become profitable.”

“This is a hugely proud moment for the entire team at Polestar,” commented Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath. “We will now open a new chapter in our story that can be summarised in one word – growth. By 2025 we aim to be selling 290,000 cars per year, 10 times as many as we sold in 2021. We already have a real and successful business; this listing gives us the funds and platform to help deliver our ambitious future plans and drive industry-leading sustainability goals forward.”

2022 has been a banner year for the company, with 130 retail outlets, the company is active in 25 markets, a number up from 19 at the end of 2021, and has received over 32,000 orders for its upcoming Polestar 2. This second iteration of Polestar’s developments will be the company’s first fully electric car. 

The Polestar 2 is slated to offer three variants, with a combination of long- and standard-range batteries as large as 78 kWh, and dual- and single-motor powertrains with as much as 300 kW / 408 hp and 660 Nm, while the Polestar 3, the company’s first SUV which will feature a dual-motor drivetrain and a large battery, with a range target of over 600 km.

“Polestar 3 is the SUV for the electric age. Our design identity evolves with this high-end large luxury EV, with a strong, individual brand character,” commented Ingenlath. “With this car, we bring the ‘sport’ back to the SUV, staying true to our performance roots.”

With figures like these, this author can only be left pondering if the crown resting upon mighty King Tesla's kopf will remain there for much longer.

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