Wallbox—a Global EV Charging Leader Expanding to Arlington—Begins Trading on NYSE

Now trading under "WBX," the Barcelona-based EV charging manufacturer closed its merger with N.Y.-based SPAC Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. on October 1.

Arlington leaders recently granted Wallbox incentives to build the company’s first North American plant in the Great Southwest Industrial District.

Barcelona-based Wallbox, a global EV charging tech company expanding to Arlington, closed its merger with N.Y.-based SPAC Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. on October 1. Wallbox share began trading today under the ticker “WBX.”

Wallbox recently announced plans for the company’s first North American manufacturing facility in Arlington, where leaders granted Wallbox incentives to build a 129, 000-square-foot plant at 2240 Forum Drive in the Great Southwest Industrial District.

Arlington incentives offered to EV charging manufacturer

Wallbox will get an annual grant from 2023 to 2029 “equal to 80 percent of its property taxes collected by the city,” in addition to waived building permit fees for improvements and redevelopment, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported last week.

The new factory is anticipated to create around 250 direct jobs in the region by 2030. The majority of new jobs “must pay at or above the median wage in Tarrant County,” according to the publication.

Local hiring for the Arlington facility will begin immediately, Wallbox said last month.

Path to production

Onsite “retooling” will begin in October, and Wallbox’s Pulsar Plus AC chargers are expected to begin at the plant as early as June 2022. The company expects to add production lines for Quasar, its DC bidirectional charger, and Supernova, its DC fast charger for public use, are anticipated to follow in the first half of 2023.

All told, the EV leader expects to manufacture 290,000 units annually at the Arlington plant by 2027, reaching a full capacity of 500,000 annual units by 2030.

The Wallbox Pulsar Plus AC charger will be the first product manufactured at the new Arlington plant. [Photo: Wallbox]

The Arlington facility will be Wallbox’s fourth manufacturing site, including two facilities in Europe and one in China. Founded in 2015, the company has a San Francisco office and employs more than 700 people in its offices in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

$1.5 billion merger with SPAC Kensington Capital, NYSE listing

Wallbox announced its plan to go public through a merger with Westbury, N.Y.-based SPAC Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. in June. At the time, the implied enterprise value of the combined company was estimated at $1.5 billion.

The transaction will result in gross proceeds of about $252 million, the company said. The funds will support the company’s growth, including its U.S. expansion.

“Entering the public markets was a natural next step for our company, as the demand for EV charging and energy management infrastructure is growing steadily around the world,” Enric Asunción, co-founder and CEO of Wallbox, said in a statement.

The deal adds resources to fuel expansion and advance the company’s innovative energy solutions for private, public, and corporate use. “While this is a great milestone, our mission remains the same—accelerating the transition to greener energy consumption worldwide,” he said.

Done deal: Wallbox and Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. II close business combination

Wallbox, which had 300 percent in year-over-year revenue growth in the first half of 2021, “has a truly unique value proposition, technology advantage, and steadily growing market traction across EV charging and energy management,” said Kensington II Chairman and CEO Justin Mirro in a statement.

Mirro noted a focus in investing in automotive innovation: “As governments, consumers and businesses around the world continue to push for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles and more sustainable energy use, Wallbox is positioned to become a leading supplier of solutions to bring about the future of energy and transportation,” the CEO said.