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Volvo Cars plans $20 billion stock IPO this month, sources say

STOCKHOLM — China's Geely Holding is in advanced discussions with banks to list its Volvo Cars unit in the coming weeks, three sources told Reuters, in what is expected to be one of Europe's biggest initial public offerings (IPOs) this year. Volvo Cars is aiming for a valuation of about $20 billion in the planned Stockholm listing, the sources said, with one saying the launch was penciled in for the end of September. Goldman Sachs and SEB are leading the transaction, while other banks including BNP Paribas, Carnegie and HSBC are also involved in the deal, the sources added. Volvo Cars declined to comment. Geely did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment outside normal business hours in China. SEB and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. The other banks were not immediately available. Geely, which bought Volvo from Ford more than a decade ago in the biggest acquisition by a Chinese firm of a foreign car maker, sought to float shares in the Swedish firm in 2018 but then pulled the deal citing trade tensions and a downturn in automotive stocks. Traditional carmakers have fallen out of favor in recent years, as Tesla has risen to be one of the world's most valuable companies, putting the focus on electric vehicles. Many European firms have pivoted toward the electric sector, including Volvo, which aims to only make fully electric cars by 2030 and owns a 49.5% stake in electric car maker Polestar. Valuation Gothenburg-based Volvo Cars aims to secure a valuation of roughly $20 billion, one of the sources said, while another mentioned a possible range of $20 billion to $30 billion. A third source suggested a $16 billion valuation was more realistic, citing the firm's revenue outlook. A $20 billion valuation for Volvo would be equivalent to six to seven times its earnings, a level some analysts say is high although it would put it in line with rivals Daimler and BMW. Tesla's valuation is more than 70 times that. NordLB's automotive analyst Frank Schwope estimated a valuation range of $10 billion to $15 billion. "The strong margins seen in the first half of 2021 are unlikely sustainable as the market benefited from a strong post-pandemic rebound that is unlikely to continue," Schwope said. For Geely's founder Li Shufu, who bought Volvo for $1.8 billion, the listing is a milestone on the road to transport of the future, where cars are part of an electrified network of mobility services generating data and business opportunities.

Volvo and GM team with Amazon for in-car deliveries

Volvo and GM are the first automakers to pair their vehicles with a new service from Amazon that lets owners have their packages delivered inside their cars, without them having to be there. The service will initially be rolled out in 37 U.S. cities at no extra charge to Amazon Prime members with a Volvo On Call or OnStar account, and it works with same-day, two-day and standard shipping. It's intended as an alternative for people who don't want to risk having their package stolen from their front porch or receive deliveries at their workplace, and both automakers say it's an example of how they're embracing innovation as a way to make their customers' lives easier. Volvo released a video (above) showing how the service works. Users download the Amazon Key App (or " Ama-zin," as the narrator pronounces it) and link their Amazon Prime account with their Volvo On Call account — or OnStar, in the case of GM-branded vehicles. Once they register their delivery location in a publicly accessible location, users can select the "In-Car" option at checkout. They get a notification when the delivery is en route and once it's completed and the car is relocked. Volvo has been offering in-car delivery in certain European countries since 2015 through its Volvo On Call platform, which enables services like the ability to send calendar-based navigation destinations directly to the vehicle, find nearby gas stations and help locate the vehicle when you forget where you parked it. Volvo says the platform is now available in roughly 50 countries and covers more than 90 percent of its global sales. The service is compatible with 2015 or newer Volvo, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles. Volvo says it's available to the majority of Volvo owners, while GM says more than 7 million vehicle owners can qualify. The service is expected to roll out to more cities later. You can check eligibility at amazon.com/keyincar. Related Video: Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Volvo Technology Infotainment Amazon connected car volvo on call e-commerce

Watch Volvo's V8 Supercar drivers play with the Polestar S60 in the Arctic

The Volvo S60 Polestar may not seem like a natural fit for the V8 Supercars series that runs throughout Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. After all, the all-wheel-drive production-spec car isn't even available with a V8. But the rear-wheel-drive racing version has acquitted itself well in the early races of the season, even scoring an overall win at a race in Melbourne. Currently at seventh place in the championship, the S60 the most successful car that isn't a Holden or Ford.
To celebrate its burgeoning success, Volvo sent its V8 Supercars drivers Robert Dahlgren and Scott McLaughlin to home base in Sweden to have some fun driving in the snow and to visit Polestar headquarters. The two of them do some big power slides on an icy lake and then taker a deeper look into the company's performance division. Scroll down to watch the video full of sliding Swedish sedans.