According to Reuters, on October 11, Polestar's newly appointed CEO, Michael Lohscheller, announced that Polestar's third-quarter electric vehicle sales reached 11,900 units, a 14% year-over-year decline from 13,900 units in the same period last year. The company is currently undergoing a strategic review of its operations.
Polestar also stated that due to tough market conditions and the impact of import tariffs, it expects its full-year revenue to remain stagnant. Last year, the company generated revenue of $2.38 billion.
Recently, Polestar made significant personnel changes, appointing a new CEO, design director, board chairman, and CFO. In his first public remarks since taking office on October 1, Michael Lohscheller also announced a strategic review plan aimed at "paving a clear path for Polestar's future development," adding that the company will release its third-quarter financial report on January 16 next year.
Michael Lohscheller stated, "The key to our future success lies in developing commercial capabilities: shifting from showcasing products to actively selling cars. A more aggressive sales approach has already supported our ambitions, as markets that have adopted this model first are showing strong order volumes."
Polestar reaffirmed its target to achieve break-even cash flow by the end of next year, although the scale of this goal has been reduced. Cantor Fitzgerald senior equity analyst Andres Sheppard remarked, "I find this encouraging, as it suggests that Polestar is adopting a cost control strategy and seeking synergies between pricing, costs, and production processes."
Additionally, Polestar noted that, given current market conditions and its performance outlook, it is in constructive discussions with club lenders who remain compliant with the company's loan terms.
Andres Sheppard commented that Polestar still has a long way to go before securing sufficient funding, and the company will need to raise more funds by the second or third quarter of next year.
Following the publication of the report, Polestar's stock price fell by more than 3%.
Like other electric vehicle manufacturers, Polestar has been impacted by high interest rates. As consumer demand for electric vehicles has weakened, with many turning to more affordable hybrid cars, Polestar's sales have also declined.
To address the slowdown in electric vehicle demand, Polestar has been cutting costs through layoffs and negotiating with suppliers to reduce manufacturing costs across its product lines.
In August, Polestar announced that it had secured $1.3 billion in external financing. Earlier this year, the company faced severe financial challenges, with Volvo Cars stating that it would cease funding Polestar at that time.
Additionally, with the U.S. and Europe planning to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Polestar has been expanding its production base in the U.S. and gradually shifting production away from China.
