Strategic Private Equity Investor joins German EV manufacturer e.GO Mobile

nd Industrial Investments B.V., part of nd Group B.V., an international private equity, joins the German electric car manufacturer e.GO Mobile AG as majority shareholder in the Next.e.GO Mobile SE alongside the management team and the founder Prof. Günther Schuh.

On September 1, 2020, Next.e.GO Mobile SE will take over the entire business of e.GO Mobile AG including all subsidiaries and will continue with the employees through a transfer of operations.

Impacted by the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, e.GO Mobile AG, previously valued at more than €1 billion ($1.2 billion), the only independent German EV car manufacturer, filed for insolvency under its own administration on April 2, 2020. The purchase contract with Next.e.GO Mobile SE has been notarised. The purchase price is undisclosed.

Next.e.GO Mobile starts with a new and enhanced structure as a European SE and with a new CEO: Ulrich Hermann, former board member of the listed Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG and a proven digitisation expert. Prof. Günther Schuh takes over as the chairman of the administrative board along with other board members.

As soon as the approval as a vehicle manufacturer for the new company is granted and the supplier contracts have been updated, activity at the Aachen Rothe Erde plant is to start anew. Service and sales of the small electric car e.GO Life are already active again.

The general representative of e.GO Mobile AG during the insolvency proceedings, Dr. Paul Fink from FRH Düsseldorf, a law firm specialising in restructuring and insolvency law, said: “e.GO Mobile was not a classic restructuring case, but a well-positioned start-up with a proven car on the road that ran out of growth capital, predominantly due to the unprecedented situation during the corona pandemic.”

Founder Prof. Günther Schuh added: “We didn't just want to survive the pandemic and the crisis it caused, we wanted to come out stronger and become the German icon that e.GO is destined for. To do this, we needed to find a professional and strategic partner with whom we could realise our great growth potential. We found that with our new partner and its visionary leadership.”