Volvo Cars is considering an initial public stock offering on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange later this year.
The Swedish automaker — controlled by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding — abandoned merger plans with its Hong Kong-listed sister brand, Geely Automobile, in February. During that announcement Volvo hinted that it may seek a listing of its own.
Volvo said in a statement Wednesday that the potential listing could be a “logical next step” on the company’s “capital market journey.”
“[It] could create an opportunity for global investors to participate in our journey to become a leader in the fast-growing premium and intelligent electric vehicle segment while continuing to deliver on what customers expect from the Volvo brand,” Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in the statement.
Previous estimates of Volvo’s value have ranged from $8.1 billion to $11.6 billion.
When asked by Automotive News Europe in February about those figures, Samuelsson said: “The valuation only matters on the day that someone is ready to pay.”
He said giving Volvo the chance to be evaluated individually rather than as a part of a merger with Geely Auto would be beneficial.
“If you keep the companies separate, they can be evaluated separately. I think the capital markets see that as an advantage,” he said in the interview.
In addition, Samuelsson told ANE that he believes Volvo would be interesting to investors for being a “fast transformer.” The automaker aims to be an electric-only brand by 2030.
“If we would hypothetically want to be on the market, this transition would be good for our valuation,” he said.
Separately, Volvo said it has extended the 70-year-old executive’s contract until the end of 2022.
Since taking over as CEO of the automaker in October 2012, Volvo has been on a record-setting course.
Samuelsson’s steady hand through multiple crises — including the current pandemic — has made him the automaker’s longest serving CEO in the last 30 years. He was named an Automotive News Europe Eurostar in 2020.