What Does Volkswagen Want From Today’s Porsche IPO?

Iconic sports car maker Porsche, part of Volkswagen, is going public today, with the parent company expecting to pocket some $9 billion, which it would use to advance its EV growth plans.

The deal is expected to become one of the biggest listings in Europe, giving Porsche a market value of up to $72 billion, according to a Reuters report ahead of the listing. The price for the offering has been set at the upper end of the range, at 82.50 euro apiece.

TechCrunch noted in a report on the upcoming deal that Volkswagen has big plans for its EV future, seen overtaking Tesla in terms of total EV sales in just two years, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. VW also plans to have more than a quarter of its total car sales coming from EVs.

VW has set its sights on beating Tesla to become the world’s largest EV manufacturer but the implementation of this plan has not been smooth. The German giant earmarked some $50 billion on its EV plans in the five years to 2025 but the cars it has so far produced under that investment program did not exactly compare favorably with Tesla vehicles, as this WSJ report detailed in 2021.

Since then, Volkswagen has shared in the suffering of the car industry with broken supply chains, a chip shortage, and now a looming copper shortage interfering with everyone’s growth plans.

The Porsche listing would certainly strengthen VW’s financial position, although the TechCrunch report noted that as the source of a quarter of the parent company’s operating income, Porsche could leave a gap in VW’s books after its listing.

The material shortages plaguing the car industry will likely make VW’s EV growth strategy a lot costlier than initially believed, so the money from the Porsche listing would certainly come in handy. The physical aspect of the shortages, however, could throw a wrench in VW’s electric-car works.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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