Tesla rival Polestar, the Swedish electric-vehicle maker backed by Volvo Car Group and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, has recently received $1.6 billion worth of financial and liquidity support from its two major shareholders.
Receives $1.6B financing
Volvo Cars are providing an $800 million principal amount as an 18-month term loan, with an equity conversion option for Volvo Cars. This amount is on par with the financial and liquidity support that Polestar’s other major shareholder, PSD Investment controlled by Chinese billionaire Li Shufu, is providing.
Polestar expects to post its results for the period ending September 30, 2022 on Friday, November 11, 2022.
“We welcome the continued support from our major shareholders at a time when the capital markets are volatile and unpredictable. With sufficient funds through 2023, we remain laser focused on business execution. We have around 70,000 cars on the road today, and are on track to reach our goal of delivering 50,000 cars to customers in 2022. We are making strong progress on our ambitious plans to launch three more cars by 2026,” said Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath.
Produces premium electric performance cars
Founded in 2017 by Volvo Cars and Chinese owner Zhejiang Geely Holding, Polestar is a global premium electric performance vehicle manufacturer. Currently, the company has produced two electric performance cars – Polestar 1 and Polestar 2.
Polestar 1 is a low-volume electric performance hybrid GT. It features a carbon fiber body and produces 609 HP and 1,000Nm of torque. It has an electric-only range of 124 km (WLTP).
On the other hand, the Polestar 2 comes in three variants with a combination of long- and standard-range batteries of up to 78 kWh and dual- and single-motor powertrains with 408 hp and 660 Nm of torque.
Currently, Polestar 1 and Polestar 2 are on the roads across Europe, North America, and Asia. By 2023, the company plans to launch its cars in 30 markets. The manufacturing happens in China with additional manufacturing planned in the USA.
Future plans of Polestar
The Gothenburg company plans to launch one new electric vehicle per year, starting with Polestar 3, the company’s first electric performance SUV, which was launched in October 2022. Polestar 4 is expected to arrive in 2023 as a smaller electric performance SUV coupe.
In 2024, it plans to launch the Polestar 5, an electric performance 4-door GT. The company aims to produce a truly climate-neutral car by 2030.
Earlier this year, Polestar revealed its second concept car, which is an electric performance roadster built on the design, technology, and sustainability ambitions of Precept, a concept car it released in 2020.
It was also confirmed that a variant of the concept would be produced as the Polestar 6 electric performance roadster. This launch is slated for 2026.