Polestar: are fresh funding, leadership, and models enough?

Geely’s troubled electric vehicle (EV) brand Polestar has secured a new infusion of funds to support the realisation of what Chief Executive Michael Lohscheller promises will be “the best year yet.” But with growing uncertainty around electrification in the wake of tariff and regulatory changes, along with geopolitical tensions, the brand’s future is far from secure.

Polestar has positioned itself as “the only true global premium electric brand”, focussing on design and performance. Since its spinoff from Volvo in 2022, however, EV enthusiasm has waned, and the company’s stock has lost 95% of its value. Recent accounting errors forced Polestar to delay its 2023 earnings report, which showed an operating loss of US$1.46bn when eventually published. Concerned that Polestar’s decline would hurt its own balance sheet, Volvo reduced its holding to just 18% in 2024.