Electric bike maker SONDORS lowers IPO price… again

When we first reported on Southern California-based electric bicycle and motorcycle company SONDORS preparing for an IPO late last year, the company was expecting to hit a $10 per share price point in the offering. But that number has since been revised to an estimate of $4-6 per share.

And this isn’t the first time SONDORS has lowered their IPO price estimate. It was already lowered once from the original $10 figure to a new target of $6-8.

The move comes as SONDORS could become the first electric bicycle company to go public in the US. Though of course the company has become much more than just an e-bike maker at this point.

First there was the three-wheeled electric car concept unveiled years ago, though it has yet to really materialize.

Then there was the two-year-long rollout of the Metacycle, a light electric motorcycle that is now being delivered in increasingly higher volumes after a rocky initial rollout.

SONDORS own story has been a bit of a rollercoaster itself, after the company burst onto the scene in 2015 with an unbelievably low-priced e-bike. The $500 electric bicycle shocked many in the industry. It’s ultimately successful delivery set the stage for what would become a SONDORS hallmark: big announcements that are dismissed by many as unlikely to succeed, only to usually be delivered – even if a day late and a dollar short of some of the loftier initial promises.

SONDORS’ initial regulatory filing ahead of the company’s expected IPO has given us our best look yet at the EV company’s finances.

It’s been a tough year or more for many electric bicycle companies that saw big sales booms during the pandemic that began to peter out in recent months.

In SONDORS’ case, the company reported revenue of almost $17M in the first three quarters of 2022, but its high operating costs led to a net loss of over $4M during that period.

The same period one year earlier saw $11.2M in revenue and a $1.78M net loss.

SONDORS has invested heavily in development and production of its Metacycle electric motorcycle, with a significant number of pre-orders weighing down the company’s liability column.

The company has also made several key hires in the past few months, including bringing in top leadership from companies like Tesla in a bid to course correct towards profitability.

The upcoming IPO is seen as key to the company’s ability to maintain enough breathing room with the necessary cash to meet its current obligations and capitalize on the expanding rollout of its light electric motorcycle, while continuing to produce its wide range of electric bicycle models.

Electrek’s Take

SONDORS may be in a tight spot here, looking for enough cash to keep its head floating comfortably above water.

The increasing rate at which it is turning those pre-order liabilities into assets is surely helping, but we don’t have a more up to date view of the company’s financials than Q3 2022. Deliveries of the SONDORS Metacycle really picked up in Q4 2022, so that’s where we’d likely see major improvements, if they exist.

That’s also where any changes from a new management team will likely begin to make an impact, so it’s hard to read too far into this yet without having a clearer picture of what’s going on behind the scenes.

Suffice it to say though that 2023 is likely a make or break year for SONDORS. Here’s hoping for the former!