EV maker Polestar reported a sharp rise in fourth-quarter vehicle sales on Friday, helped by its recent strategy of focusing on Europe.
The company’s sales rose 27 per cent to 15,608 vehicles sold in the fourth quarter. It sold 60,119 cars throughout the year.
Over the past year, Polestar has increasingly leaned on Europe, which now accounts for about 78 per cent of its sales, as conditions in the United States and China became more challenging due to weaker demand and intensifying competition.
“Europe is absolutely the core, and we see it works exceptionally well. We go into France, we hire Volvo retailers. We bring a French team in there and our cars are very well received,” CEO Michael Lohscheller told Reuters. “We’re just ramping up,” he said while noting uncertainty surrounding the US market. “It’s all about Europe.” Polestar has also reduced its emphasis on online, direct-to-consumer sales in favor of a traditional dealer-led model, expanding its sales network by 50 per cent outside China, where it shut all 30 of its physical retail sites.
US tariffs have hurt the carmaker’s margins, forcing it to rejig supply chains and shift production locations to Europe and South Korea. High debt loads, persistent losses and launch delays have also led to a weak share price, prompting the company to conduct a reverse stock split, mechanically lifting the price from below $1 to $18, to avoid a NASDAQ delisting.
Polestar has relied heavily on Chinese carmaker and majority-owner Geely Holding to help fund its loss-making operations. In December, it secured $900 million in fresh financing and loan deals made with Geely and two European banks.
Like Swedish automaker Volvo Cars – also owned by Geely – Polestar increasingly depends on the Chinese group’s platforms and supply chain to cut costs, reduce development spending and improve efficiency. Polestar said it planned to provide key product updates and financial outlook on February 18.>
