Polestar under pressure on Wall Street, growth too slow?

(Boursier.com) — Polestar , the Swedish automaker active in the electric vehicle market, stumbles before the stock market on Wall Street. The group nevertheless achieved record deliveries in the first quarter with 12,076 cars, up 26% over one year, and it is entering the second quarter with “good commercial momentum”. The company recalls that it has experienced strong growth over the past five years, establishing a global footprint with more than 100,000 cars on the road in 27 markets. It recently launched two new cars – the Polestar 3 and the Polestar 4 – to cater to the popular SUV segment. $589 million. The loss per share, of only one cent, is much lower than expected (consensus -14 cents). The net loss is reduced to 9 million dollars against 274 million a year before. The operating loss is reduced to 199 million. The group finally postpones the start of production of its Polestar 3 until the first quarter of 2024.

Polestar was recently informed of the additional time required for the final software development of the new all-electric platform shared by Volvo Cars. As such, the start of production of the Polestar 3 is now expected in the first quarter of 2024. In light of this and economic conditions affecting the automotive industry, Polestar now expects global volumes of 60,000 to 70,000 vehicles for 2023, or an annual growth of 16 to 36%, after record deliveries of 51,491 last year. The start of production of the Polestar 4, scheduled for China in the fourth quarter of 2023, and for the other markets in early 2024, remains unchanged. Polestar is stepping up its cost management efforts, including freezing hiring globally and reducing headcount by 10%, “which helps increase efficiency across the business.”

Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, comments: “We are taking the necessary steps to strengthen Polestar in the short term. While production of Polestar 3 will now begin in the first quarter of 2024, the successful launch of Polestar 4 last month means that we are adding two strong offerings in the attractive electric SUV market in 2024. I am confident that we will achieve our growth ambitions and our path to profitability.”