The Swedish electric start-up Polestar has reported promising annual results, revealing a doubling in sales to $US2.5 billion, a boost in margins and a reduced loss as it prepares to launch more EV models into global markets this year and next.
The Gothenburg-based Polestar – jointly owned by Volvo and that company’s Chinese owner Geely – started off as Volvo’s racing specialist before morphing into a stand alone EV maker, with the Polestar 2 among its early signature vehicles.
The company says it sold 51,491 of its all-electric cars in 2022, an 80% increase compared to the 28,677 it sold in 2021, as it started to see the benefits of scaling production with gross margins going from 0.1% in 2021 to 4.9% in 2022.
Polestar running at a loss but heading in the right direction
Polestar made a loss of $US466 million in 2022, however that’s down by over half on 2021’s loss of $US1007 million.
Polestar is still in the very early stages of ramping production so these losses are to be expected. But the increased gross margins and an almost doubling of sales suggests it is building momentum.
“We left 2022 having exceeded our 50,000 delivery target, grown revenue over 80 percent and with strengthened liquidity,” CEO Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement.
“We are focused on business execution and have had a busy start to this year with a major update to Polestar 2, excellent reception for Polestar 3, and welcomed additional sustainability partners for our ambitious Polestar 0 project.
“Our business will continue to gain momentum through the year as we start producing Polestar 3 – and with Polestar 4 in the starting blocks.” said Ingenlath.
Big year ahead for the company
2023 will be a big year for Polestar. More than 7,000 Australians have expressed their interest in the all-electric Polestar 3 SUV, the successor to the popular and well-received Polestar 2 electric sedan, but it does not come cheap.
Polestar will also launch it Model Y sized Polestar 4 this year
Polestar also recently announced significant improvements to its Polestar 2 model. The refresh includes a shift to rear-wheel drive for the single motor options, new electric motors with increased power, upgraded batteries and faster charging.
Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.