BlackRock-Backed EV Startup to Make Nasdaq Debut in Crowded Race

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Mar 24 2021, 5:06 PMMar 24 2021, 6:26 PMMarch 24 2021, 5:06 PMMarch 24 2021, 6:26 PM

(Bloomberg) -- The electric-vehicle arena will get even more crowded on Thursday after Arrival Ltd. debuts on the Nasdaq.

The London-based maker of vans and buses, which has BlackRock Inc. among its biggest investors, is combining with blank-check firm CIIG Merger Corp. and will trade under the ticker ARVL. Merging with special-purpose acquisition companies has become the favorite route to public markets for electric-car developers including Nikola Corp., Lordstown Motors Corp. and Fisker Inc.

Those three stocks are well below their highs for the year as appetite for the industry has soured after a rush of announcements from legacy carmakers about their plans to move more aggressively into the electric-vehicle scene. Investors have also shifted away from high-flying shares amid a recent jump in Treasury yields. Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. -- which soared more than 700% in 2020 -- notched its worst month in almost a year in February, largely underperforming the S&P 500 Index.

Founded in 2015 by Denis Sverdlov, a former Russian deputy minister, Arrival plans to develop electric vehicles using its own parts, components and technologies. The move may allow the company to adapt quickly to any change in demand, reduce costs and boost margins.

Its electric van will begin public-road trials with certain customers this summer, with full production expected to kick off in the third quarter of 2022, Arrival said earlier this month. Meanwhile, the company’s bus will undergo a trial run with one of Britain’s largest transport operators this fall.

Other electric-vehicle companies that are planning to make their trading debuts include Lucid Motors Inc., Lion Electric Co. and Xos Trucks Inc.