Polestar, the electric vehicle maker that made its Nasdaq debut in June, said Wednesday it is on track to meet its annual sales target.
For the first half of 2022, Polestar delivered approximately 21,200 cars, more than twice as many as the 9,510 cars it posted for the same period in 2021. The company said it expects to deliver 50,000 cars this year.
That’s a positive sign for the EV company, which spun out from Volvo and Geely by merging with Gorges Guggenheim, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAc), at a $20 billion valuation. Most EV manufacturers that have gone public through a SPAC instead of an IPO during the last two years have struggled shortly after launching on the stock exchange, missing their sales targets and sending share prices into freefall.
Polestar’s share price has also declined since its debut, but the company still plans to scale its operations worldwide, boost production by adding a second shift at its factory in China and begin making a second model at Volvo’s factory in South Carolina.
The automaker, which raised $890 million through its SPAC deal to fund its three-year growth plan, also benefits from access to Volvo and Geely’s manufacturing expertise, facilities and connections. Those advantages set it apart from Faraday Future, Electric Last Mile Solutions, Lordstown Motors and others that have struggled to raise enough money to build their own EVs from scratch.
Currently, the Polestar 2 battery-electric sedan is the only model the automaker sells. The lineup will expand with the arrival of the Polestar 3 SUV in October and later include the Polestar 4 midsize crossover and Polestar 5 flagship sedan.
Analysts expect the Polestar 3 to generate significant sales as one of the automotive industry’s fastest-growing and highest-margin segments.
Overall, the company plans to grow its presence to 30 countries by the end of 2023 and sell 290,000 cars annually by 2025 — about 10 times Polestar’s 2021 sales.
Polestar said it has begun delivering the first vehicles to Hertz under a $3 billion deal to sell the rental car company 65,000 EVs over the next five years.
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