Start-up Etioca eyes Nasdaq listing next year as it unveils electric taxi

MILAN (Reuters) – Shared mobility start-up Etioca aims to list on the stock market in the United States in spring, its co-CEO said on Thursday as it unveiled a prototype of its fully-electric seven-seater plus driver taxi in Milan.

Founded and led by Israeli engineer Mark Ishakov and headquartered in Gibraltar, Etioca will not sell its taxis but has a business model based on fees paid by drivers to use them and on other services including media advertising and blockchain.

“Vehicles are not for sale, they’ll be given to drivers for use under a comprehensive fee,” Co-CEO Roberto Fiorello said, adding Etioca currently planned to generate revenue of around $1 billion for every 15,000 vehicles produced.

“We want to list at Nasdaq,” he said.

Etioca has hired Chardan, a New York-based investment bank, to advise it on the process, it said in a statement.

The company said it plans to invest around $1.2 billion over the next three years and aimed to start production between the end of 2024 and early 2025, with a target of 45,000 vehicles in 2025 and 100,000 in 2027.

Renowned Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro will help Etioca develop its vans, which are fitted with battery-swapping technology and a modular platform allowing them to serve several purposes, including as ambulances and for firefighting, police or defence vehicles.

The company said it was currently in discussions over around 90,000 pre-orders in Italy, Israel and Latvia, adding that it is negotiating a deal with an Italian partner to use an existing facility to speed up production times.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)