Polestar Automotive Holding said it nearly doubled revenue on Thursday for the first six months of the year as demand for the Swedish company’s electric vehicles soared.
As countries aim for zero carbon emissions and gasoline prices rise, the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has increased. Electric vehicle makers have scrambled to ramp up production amid supply chain bottlenecks and rising battery components and materials costs.
The company reported revenue of $1.04 billion for the six months ended June 30, compared to $534.8 million a year earlier.
The net loss widened to $502.7 million, compared to $368.2 million a year earlier.
Deliveries of the Swedish electric vehicle maker, founded by China’s Geely (0175. HK) and Volvo Cars, rose nearly 125% to some 21,200 cars in the first six months of the year from 9,510 a year earlier.
The company said deliveries would be weighted towards the fourth quarter due to COVID-19 disruptions in China and reaffirmed its full-year target of 50,000 deliveries.
The company also announced that following prolonged government mandated COVID-19 lockdowns in China during the first half of 2022- which delayed production of Polestar vehicles- it is now pushing on with the introduction of a second shift in the factory. This will recover some of the production lost earlier in the year and clear the path for future growth.
The next major step for Polestar will be its entry into the SUV segment with the global launch of the electric performance SUV, Polestar 3, in October. The SUV market is one of the highest growth and margin segments in the automotive industry, especially in the United States. Customers can expect to be able to order Polestar 3 on the day of the premiere in October.
“Polestar 3 will stand out amongst other SUV offerings and boost our growth trajectory. It also represents the expansion of our manufacturing footprint into the United States as we become even more global. It is an important next step towards our goal of selling 290,000 cars in 2025 – ten times more than we sold in 2021,” concludes Thomas Ingenlath.