British electric and hydrogen truck firm Tevva is planning to merge with Nasdaq-listed and Canada-headquartered automaker ElectraMeccanica.
ElectraMeccanica produced a three-wheeled electric vehicle called the Solo, but was forced to cease production earlier this year due to a safety defect. It is now turning its attention to electric trucks.
Susan Docherty, CEO of ElectraMeccanica, said: “We believe this is the right time and Tevva is the right partner with which to pivot from consumer vehicles to commercial vehicles and respond to commercial fleet customer demand for superior, reliable and cost-efficient trucks.”
The two vehicle manufacturers are expecting combined revenue in the neighbourhood of $1.3bn to $1.5bn in their 2028 financial targets.
Tevva has developed both electric and hydrogen-electric trucks, with deliveries of its 7.5-tonne electric truck in progress.
The 7.5-tonne received regulatory approval in January and is now rolling off the production line at Tevva’s 110,000-square-foot manufacturing site in Tilbury, London.
Combined with ElectraMeccanica’s commissioned 235,000-square-foot factory in Arizona, it gives each automotive manufacturer a footprint in a new market.
“Since Tevva’s founding more than ten years ago, we have focused our engineering and product development capabilities on developing a portfolio of zero-emission commercial vehicles that have generated significant customer interest,” said David Roberts, director of Tevva.
Roberts is expected to become executive chairman and Docherty chief executive when the potential merger is finalised.
EV challenger
Founded in 2013, Tevva’s latest funding boost saw it collect £41m from investors in June of 2022 and brought its total to $140m.
If the deal completes, shareholders of Tevva will own 76.5% and ElectraMeccanica shareholders 23.5% of the merged companies.
Combined cash balance is predicted to stand at $70m (£54.9m) to $80m (£62.7m) and debt of around $26m (£20.4m).
Post-merger the new entity will be called Tevva, Inc. and be based in Delaware operating under the ticker symbol TVVA on the Nasdaq.
It has been a bumpy road for other British electric vehicle challengers. Arrival, which was founded in Britain but listed on the US Nadaq exchange in 2021 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, is yet to report any revenue.
It recently scrapped a second merger with special purpose acquisition company, which sought to plug the EV maker’s mounting losses.