The firm, which started out as a Newcastle-based builder for electric delivery vehicles in the 1920s and still has a manufacturing facility in the area, is now headquartered in Kansas City and counts The Coca Cola Company, Staples, Sainsbury’s and Fedex among the customers for its electric vans.

Smith said in its statement that it had not confirmed the price or volume of shares to be made available.  The proceeds of its first public would be spent on research and development of its electric powertrain, batteries, gearbox and telemetry, as well as future vehicle platforms. Sales and marketing, general and administrative expenses would also be covered, as part of plans to grow the company, while its public listing would help raise its visibility and create a market for its stock.

The rewards, it said, would be a foothold in the electric commercial vehicle market – showing a compound annual growth rate of 3.3% from 2011 to 2016, equating to a worldwide market worth over $40m.

But it also warned investors that the shares came with a “high degree of risk” – Smith’s losses totalled $30.3m in 2010, and $21.3m in the six months ending in June 2011. It said it was possible that further investment would be required in future.

UBS Investment Bank and BofA Merrill Lynch are underwriting the offering.