Polestar is targeting deliveries of 50,000 electric vehicles this year, and the unusual thing during these times of supply constraints is that all 50,000 units have already been built.
The electric performance car brand Polestar delivered 30,400 cars globally in the first nine months of this year, which means it has set a target to hand over almost 20,000 vehicles to customers in the fourth quarter alone.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said the EV maker’s first gross profit as a public company wasn’t the biggest takeway from its third-quarter results, but the fact that Polestar appears on course to hit its annual delivery target.
“Main message for me is, we are on track to deliver 50,000 cars this year. So the cars are produced, they’re on the way to the customers, and we are cruising to the end of the year, delivering these cars.”
Ingenlath said Polestar‘s asset light business model, developed with help from corporate parents Volvo Cars and Geely, has enabled it to ramp up, hit its production goals and also trim its operating expenses.
“Being a start-up that is backed by Volvo makes a difference. We can work with very experienced production, we can work with very, very established and experienced logistics.”
While sales have been relatively strong in the US, Polestar expects strong growth starting next year as it launches the Polestar 3 SUV, the first of its two high-volume models.
Slated to arrive in late 2023, the Polestar 3 will likely overtake the Polestar 2 when it comes to sales, especially in the US, Ingenlath said. The Polestar 3 will initially be manufactured in China before production will also begin in the US from 2024, at Volvo Cars’ Charleston, South Carolina plant.
The next launches for the company will be the Polestar 4 crossover coupe, expected in 2024, and the 2025-bound Polestar 5 flagship sedan. Further down the road is the Polestar 6 halo roadster, expected to launch within the next five years.
Such an ambitions expansion plan will not be easy to fund, but Polestar recently secured a $1.6 billion loan from its two major shareholders, Volvo Cars and PSD Investment Ltd, that will help capitalize the company through 2023.
Volvo Cars will provide an 18-month $800 million loan, while PSD Investment Ltd, controlled by Chinese billionaire Li Shufu, will contribute to an equal amount through direct and indirect financing and liquidity support.
