Automotive News Europe — 2024-10-11
Automotive Industry
New boss Michael Lohscheller said the Swedish EV maker will develop its commercial capabilities so it can go “from showing to actively selling cars.”
New Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller has launched a review of operations and strategy after the struggling electric-car maker reported weaker-than-expected deliveries.
The Swedish manufacturer will develop its commercial capabilities so it can go “from showing to actively selling cars,” Lohscheller said in a statement on 11 October.
His comments accompanied figures that fell short of analyst estimates. Polestar delivered 11,900 cars in the third quarter, 15% fewer than a year earlier, despite more than doubling the size of its lineup in 2024.
The company said it expects 2024 revenue to be similar to last year, reaching a positive gross profit margin in the fourth quarter. It reaffirmed a goal of achieving cash flow breakeven by the end of next year but with lower volumes than it was previously targeting.
Polestar shares fell 4.4% in premarket trading in New York, having already tumbled by more than a third this year through Thursday's close.
Controlled by Chinese billionaire Li Shufu, Polestar has struggled with delays in rolling out new models, while competition has been especially intense in China, a market it targeted for growth. The premium EV manufacturer has lost most of its market value since spinning out of Volvo Cars two years ago and listing on Nasdaq.
Polestar announced in August that Lohscheller, who turned around Opel when he was CEO, would replace former chief Thomas Ingenlath, who struggled to contain losses and fix operational problems.
Lohscheller officially started on 1 October 2024.
The adoption of a more active sales model is already helping, Lohscheller said.
The third quarter brought total deliveries for the first nine months of 2024 to 32,300, a 23% drop from a year earlier. The EV maker had said in August 2024 it remained confident that sales of its Polestar 3 and 4 models would boost sales in the second half of the year.
Polestar said Friday, 11 October 2024, that it and Li's Geely were engaged in “constructive dialog” with lenders regarding its loan covenants. The lenders remain supportive, Polestar added.
The company said as recently as August that it had secured as much as $300 m in additional external funding, in the form of a one-year revolving term loan facility.