Arrival has become the latest EV startup to go public as they combined with blank check company CIIG Merger Corp yesterday and made their debut on the Nasdaq this morning.
Listed under the ticker symbol ARVL, the company is off to a rough start as trading begin at $22.40 (£16.32 / €19.02) and dropped to $18.34 (£13.36 / €15.57) in less than an hour. The stock has recovered since then and is currently at $21.36 (£15.56 / €18.14) as of this writing.
The future of the stock remains unclear, but Arrival is optimistic as they noted their electric van will begin public road tests this summer and will go into production in the second half of 2022. Shorter term, the company’s electric bus will go into production in the fourth quarter and be trailed by the UK’s First Bus shortly thereafter.
Also Read: Arrival’s Electric Van Inches Closer To Production As Startup Unveils Revised Beta Prototype
Arrival also noted their close ties to UPS, which has committed to purchase up to 10,000 electric vehicles with an option to order up to 10,000 more. It’s also worth mentioning Hyundai and Kia made a $118 (£86 / €100) million strategic investment in Arrival last year and this will spawn “competitively priced small and medium-sized electric vans and other products for logistics and on-demand ride-hailing and shuttle service companies.”
In statement, Arrival founder and CEO Denis Sverdlov said “We believe that all vehicles will soon be electric, because it is better for people, the planet and business.” He added, “Going public is an opportunity that will allow us to continue to scale globally, bringing these products to more and more cities and people.”
Arrival joins a growing crowd of EVs companies that have gone or will go public via blank check companies. Among the others are Lordstown, Fisker, EVgo and ChargePoint – just to name a few.
