Toronto, Ontario — Read all about the largest-ever investment in the Canadian EV supply chain and how a Toronto-based online retailer plans to delist from the Toronto Stock Exchange in this weekly Tuesday Ticker.
Big bucks for batteries
The Canadian government and Volkswagen have committed more than $20 million toward the planned St. Thomas, Ont. EV battery gigafactory, marking the largest-ever single investment in Canada’s electric vehicle supply chain.
Volkswagen said it has committed up to $7 billion to build the factory, while the federal government has committed $13.2 billion in manufacturing tax credits through 2032, matching the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
The federal government also said it will provide a $700 million grant toward the project. The Ont. provincial government will add $500 million in a direct investment to Volkswagen in addition to substantial investments to update local infrastructure.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Volkswagen gigafactory will be “an anchor for Canada’s EV supply chain” and “be worth well over $200 billion to the Canadian economy over the coming decades.”
Moving on
Earlier this month, E Automotive, a Canadian company that runs an online auction platform for car dealerships, announced its plans to delist from the Toronto Stock Exchange—just 17 months after its public debut.
Better known as E Inc., the company went public with $1 billion valuation back in Nov. 2021. Shares were $23 apiece, and the company raised $135.7 million that quarter while selling 13 percent of the entire company.
E Inc. said that the IPO’s investors were more than 90 percent institutional investors, adding that the majority sold their shares before the company had reported any quarterly results. The company estimates 95 percent of institutional investors with shares from the IPO have since sold their positions.
Among reasons cited for the decision: “extremely limited trading volumes” and a small public float, which the company said “can limit future institutional investment opportunities and drive volatility in the price of the company’s shares unrelated to the company’s performance.”
E Inc. said it plans to delist from the TSX around May 24, 2023.
