Sweden’s Volta Trucks is planning to file for bankruptcy following a breakdown in its supply chain, the company has said.
According to Bloomberg, the decision came roughly two months after Volta’s battery supplier Proterra failed, causing the truckmaker to fall short of production targets.
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The collapse “negatively affected our ability to raise sufficient capital in an already challenging capital raising environment for electric vehicle players”, Volta’s board said in a statement cited by Bloomberg.
Proterra’s US Chapter 11 filing came “at the absolute worst time when production was to be scaled up”, Bloomberg cited Byggmastare Anders J Ahlstrom, one of Volta’s largest shareholders, as saying.
The report noted Volta had last November raised funds at a roughly EUR600m (US$633m) valuation as it prepared to ship its first trucks. The company, which employs about 850 people, had been targeting an initial public offering in 2024, according to CEO Essa Al-Saleh, Bloomberg said.
The report also noted Volta had been one of several Swedish startups trying to lead on sustainable transport in a country where Volvo and Volkswagen’s Scania have a long history.
Bloomberg said Byggmasteren owned about 10% of the company’s shares as of 30 June, a holding which is now worthless, according to the statement. It also invested about EUR4m in a secured loan to Volta in the third quarter, the holding company reportedly said, adding that the loan’s value is now “difficult to assess.”
It had raised approximately EUR300 million ($316 million) from investors and had an order book of more than 5,000 vehicles. As recently as this week, Volta had announced partnerships, such as one with Societe Generale Equipment Finance (SGEF).
In June this year, Volta had also expanded its UK operations, opening a ‘first of its kind’ facility in Tottenham, north London.
UK administrators assigned to Volta Trucks Ltd
