Swedish electric automaker Polestar says it is still confident of reaching its target of 50,000 electric car sales for 2022, anticipating a big boost in the last quarter after it officially launches its Polestar 3 in early October.
Polestar late last week revealed that global sales more than doubled to 21,185 in the first half of 2022, driven by its popular Polestar 2 sedan. That figure compared to just 9,510 in the previous corresponding period.
But it still requires a big increase to meet the targeted 50,000 cars by year’s end. But it says its vehicle deliveries will be weighted towards the fourth quarter due to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 virus in China, and with the anticipated launch of the Polestar 3 electric SUV in Copenhagen in early October.
“We maintained strong momentum in our global order take and expect to deliver 50,000 cars to our customers this year, meeting our 2022 sales guidance,” said Thomas Ingenlath, the Polestar CEO.
“With several ground-breaking cars to come, Polestar is poised for a period of rapid growth.”
Polestar is aiming to launch four new EVs over the next five years – starting with the Polestar 3, which will be followed by the Polestar 4 electric performance SUV coupe in 2023, the Polestar 5, and then the Polestar 6 in 2024.
As we reporter last week, all 500 build slots for the Polestar 6 LA Concept edition had sold out within a week of their production announcement – highlighting continued demand for the company’s electric vehicles. It also has a massive deal with rental car company Hertz.
The strong sales of the Polestar 2 in the first half enabled revenue to nearly double to $US1.04 billion, but the costs of marketing, expansion into new markets and the backdoor listing on the Nasdaq led to an even bigger operating loss of $US885.2 million, compared to $US520 million over the first half of 2021.
The listing charge of $US372.3 million was incurred during the merger with Gores Guggenheim – Polestar’s backdoor listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Polestar also took a small hit as it increased spending on future vehicles and battery electric technologies – including the Polestar Precept and the P10 powertrain – while at the same time it was able to offset some of this cost by reducing research and development expenses by $US8.1 million.
“We made important progress in the first half of 2022 as we doubled revenues and volume, and successfully listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York,” Ingenlath said.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.