PitchBook Analyst Note: The EV/Mobility SPAC Handbook

As special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) sweep the mobility tech industry, they have ushered in a new era of mobility investing. Late-stage mobility tech companies have gained an avenue to access public markets, providing ordinary equity investors with a way to gain exposure to a disruptive industry that is reshaping the future of transportation.

In this note, we provide an overview of the PitchBook Mobility SPAC Index (which posted an impressive 77.7% return in H2 2020), the electric vehicle and mobility startups that have completed SPAC mergers (or announced plans to do so), and our top picks for potential future electric vehicle/mobility SPAC mergers (such as AEye, Lucid Motors, and Rimac). 

Among the findings:

• In 2020, 26 mobility tech companies merged with SPACs (or entered the process of doing so), representing a combined valuation of over $100 billion.
• In the latter half of the year, our Mobility SPAC Index generated a return of 77.7%, well above the S&P 500 total return and Nasdaq 100 total return of 22.2% and 27.4%, respectively.
• We believe these strong exit outcomes demonstrate that successful exits are possible for venture-backed startups and will serve to attract more early-stage capital to the mobility tech industry.

This note was updated on January 19, 2021 to correct a typo in Lucid Motors' stock listing on page 12.