Back in March, Volve revealed plans to become a fully electric car company by 2030. Now, Hakan Samuelsson, the Chairman of the Executive Board of Volvo Cars Corporation reveals, this shift to EVs is playing a major role in the automaker’s decision to go public. The company is bracing for a record-breaking public offering, with plans to raise 25 billion Swedish krona ($3.6 billion) during its highly anticipated IPO.
On Monday, Samuelsson joined CNBC’s Julianna Tatelbaum to discuss the automaker’s decision to go public, and the shift to electric vehicles. “We have a very big interest from investors to invest into EV companies, you see that growing all the time,” he said. “We have said 2030 is our end date for [the] ICE [Internal combustion engine] engine and we of course want to secure that transformation.”
However, as many automakers have learned, the shift to EVs is not cheap. “That’s why we are now talking about [the] primary issuing of new shares in around 3 billion U.S. dollars … And that is really to have the financial resources to secure this transformation in the next five, six years. That’s really … the reason for our ‘intention to float’ message.”
Volva isn’t the only automaker to commit to a fully electric future, in recent months. Joining the likes of Rolls Royce, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, and Toyota, Volvo’s chief technology officer, Henrik Green, has said, “There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine. We are firmly committed to becoming an electric-only car maker and the transition should happen by 2030.”
