Swedish electric carmaker Polestar has gone public on the Nasdaq, which is expected to accelerate its growth. The company listed via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Gores Guggenheim, which raised around USD890 million for Polestar. “We will now begin a new chapter in our story that can be summarized in one word – growth,” said Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar. Alec Gores, Chairman and CEO of The Gores Group, said: “Polestar has proven itself to be a true leader and innovator with premier vehicles, industry-leading sustainability solutions, impressive sales and orders, and stunning designs for future models.”
Founded in 2017 by Volvo Cars and its owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Polestar has the agility of a startup while having access to an established car giant’s expertise and capacity. This unique combination has given the carmaker a head start in production and global expansion, said Nathan Forshaw, President of Polestar China and the Asia-Pacific. Polestar has launched two award-winning models, the hybrid GT Polestar 1 and the electric fastback Polestar 2. So far more than 55,000 of them have been sold. Orders for Polestar 2 have exceeded 32,000 this year, an increase of 290% year-on-year.
Forshaw said Polestar and Tesla, are truly the two pure global EV players. “We launched in 10 global markets and we have expanded very quickly into 25 markets now, and 30 markets by the end of next year, and I think that shows the demand for Polestar is really growing very rapidly,” he said. Polestar has research and development facilities in the United Kingdom, Sweden and China. Polestar cars are manufactured in two facilities in China, with additional future manufacturing planned in the United States. Its R&D center in China is dedicated to local consumer insights and cooperation with Chinese institutions to provide a better experience for local consumers in the world’s largest market for new energy vehicles.
Forshaw said Polestar has a very clear product plan which will drive its sales to exceed 290,000 units in 2025, which will be 10 times the figure in 2021. From 2022, Polestar plans to launch one new electric vehicle per year, starting with the Polestar 3 – the company’s first electric performance SUV – which is expected to debut in October 2022. The model will be built both in China and the U.S.
Forshaw said the Polestar 3 has a representative design. “It will use a bespoke and bonded aluminum platform as well as Nvidia core processing power with a range of about 600 kilometers (under the worldwide harmonized light vehicles test procedure WLTP), and it’s a very exciting product particularly for the Chinese market. It has low rooflines and a very sporty feel, which represents the evolution of our history,” he said. Polestar 4, a smaller electric performance SUV coupe, is expected to follow in 2023. In 2024, the Polestar 5 electric performance four-door GT is planned to be launched, the China Daily reports.
