The Polestar 3 SUV, originally expected late this year, has been pushed into early 2024 because of delays with its Volvo-developed software.
Courtesy: Polestar
Swedish electric-vehicle maker Polestar on Thursday reiterated that it still expects to deliver at least 60,000 EVs in 2023, with a positive gross margin – and confirmed that its next two new models are still on track to go into production as expected.
The news came as part of Polestar’s second-quarter earnings report. Polestar’s net loss for the period was $304.1 million, or 14 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, it lost $334.4 million.
A year ago, Polestar’s net loss was $228.2 million, or 12 cents per share. Its adjusted loss was $296.2 million for that period.
Revenue for the second quarter jumped to $685.2 million from $589.1 million during the same quarter last year.
Polestar delivered 15,765 vehicles in the second quarter, up 36% from a year earlier, and a total of 27,841 vehicles in the first half of 2023.
The company reiterated the guidance it provided in May, saying that it still expects to produce between 60,000 and 70,000 vehicles in 2023, with a gross margin of 4% for the year. Polestar’s gross margin was 1.4% in the first half of 2023 and 4.9% in 2022.
The automaker delivered 51,491 vehicles in 2022.
Polestar had $1.06 billion in cash and equivalents as of the end of the second quarter, versus $884.3 million as of Mar. 31.
Shares were roughly flat in premarket trading following the news. Polestar’s shares were down almost 28% this year through Wednesday’s close.
“We achieved record volume growth during the second quarter,” CEO Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement. “Deliveries of our significantly upgraded Polestar 2 are now ramping up. With Polestar 4 expected to start production in November and Polestar 3 in the first quarter of next year, we are entering an exciting phase of higher volumes and value from our expanded model range.”
The upcoming Polestar 3, a large electric SUV, is based on a new platform developed by (and shared with) Volvo Cars. It was originally expected before the end of 2023, but delays with the platform’s software will push it into early 2024, Polestar said in May.
The Polestar 4, a smaller crossover SUV, will be built on a different platform and is still on track to go into production in November as originally planned. Deliveries are expected to begin in China before the end of 2023, and elsewhere in early 2024.
