EV companies raised $17Bn in 2019

Dutch consultancy EVBoosters has released its latest funding report for 2019, with some of the trending developments reported here. Expect number-crunching covering Q4 in e-mobility funding and investment insights.

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Over the course of 2019, e-mobility has become the new tech market when it comes to investors eager to gain ground in a growing field. Established technology funders such as Intel, Airbus, Samsung, Goldman Sachs, Alliance and Accel entered the space as financial investors. At the same time, big tech companies such as Google, Baidu, or Tencent continued their involvement, now often as strategic EV investors rather than technology drivers themselves. Besides venture capitalists (VC’s), many corporate venture entities of Fortune 500 companies stepped in last year.

For example, Baidu invested in WM Motors in the first quarter of 2019, a promising Chinese EV Manufacturer. Electronica giant Samsung invested during the second quarter in European battery manufacturer Northvolt, as did IKEA, Goldman Sachs, Siemens and BMW. Also, this last quarter, chip manufacturer Intel acquired a minority share of Israeli battery maker Addionics, to name but a few.

Wrap-up Global e-Mobility Funding Report 2019

EVBoosters, the Dutch e-Mobility consultancy estimated, in cooperation with analyst company Venture IQ, that a total of 240 transactions raised up to $17 billion in 2019. As in Q3/2019, they gathered this information via Crunchbase, Pitchbook and their network of EV companies.

A total of $11,9 Billion is raised based on 164 traceable transactions, with an average value per transaction of $72 million. 76 companies didn’t disclose any financial details. Based on these numbers the analysts projected that all EV related companies raised a total of $15 billion and up to $17 billion throughout 2019. Based on this, Paul Jan Jacobs, Founder of EVBoosters, projects that EV companies worldwide will raise even more than $20 billion by the end of 2020.

Fundraising is a continuous process for most EV Start-and Scaleups

At present, the most successful e-mobility startups seem to make it into almost every edition of the quarterly report, simply because their need for money never appears to stop. Tesla was first to know this when two out of five Tesla founders, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning described in 2018 how after every successful step, like finishing a design goal or a successful test, they went back on the fundraising beat to get investment for the next goal.

The same is true for Tesla rival Rivian that is showing the most active scaleup in 2019 with a total of $2.9 billion raised. The EV manufacturer to be will also feature prominently in the Q1/2020 report with $1.3 billion raised in a month. Production will start later in 2020 with deliveries to follow a year later. One of the customers awaiting delivery in 2021 is Amazon who ordered 100,000 electric vans based on the Rivian platform. With such an order, the survival of the first phase of being a real, production company is very likely.

Another recurring name is Bird with its electric scooters. In Q4 it raised another $275 million and in Q1/2020 it will be present as the buyer of German rival Circ, while also raising $75 million in extra pocket money. Bird is facing the double challenge of growing fast while having to increase efficiency. Together with Circ, Bird has better opportunities to manage micro-mobility together with cities.

Q4 2019: German EV companies intensify funding rounds to keep up the pace

The most e-mobility companies seeking financing in Q4 2019 were situated in the USA, according to the TechCrunch database. However, Germany is catching up. The number of fundraisings grew from 4 to 12 with companies like Compleo, eliso and Blue Inductive (Charging station OEM), to CleverShuttle (Shared Electric Mobility) and chargeIT (CPO) that was 100% acquired by the Dutch Eneco eMobility to strengthen its position in the neighbouring country.

The rising star on the German sky is Sono Motors. When the startup’s values (affordable and sustainable) collided with short-term targets of investors (fast-growth and profit maximisation), Sono Motors switched to a model of crowdfunding, using the deposits of its reservation holders as company capital. In January the crowdfunding campaign ended, surpassing the ambitious goal of €50 million with €3 extra millions.

It all starts with battery production capacity to drive growth

The key enabling technologies for the adoption of e-mobility are access to batteries and charging infrastructure and battery cell supply has become an issue to scaling up EV production. More carmakers are investing in battery makers to secure supply chains. In Q4/2019, Daimler increased its stake in Sila Nanotechnologies, a supplier of advanced electrode materials. Toyota has confirmed an EV Battery joint venture with Panasonic, VW is increasing production in its partnership with Northvolt, and PSA is building two large battery factories using technology from battery maker Saft. This is the switch in focus from carmakers that will enable a more secure supply of this essential part of all BEV.

Source: The ‘Global e-Mobility Funding Report’ is an initiative of EVBoosters and supported by Venture IQ, a data-driven technology company. You may download the report in exchange for contact details via the EV Treasury Room.
EVBoosters will release the Q1 2020 report by May 5th exclusively via electrive.com.

Evboosters.com (illustrated report for download)