Me too ... Not. Good.

 

bad timing news. P4 European launch few days ago and no this news. reading between lines is like Polestar is not as a viable option as it was few months ago. Now is on its own. kind of

 

I'm not reading this as anything specifically good or bad. I think it's just Geely organizing things under their umbrella in a way that best suits them. Volvo and Polestar were always destined to be separate entities and this just solidifies this. Also, I think the brand while known for being an offshoot of Volvo in the US, we're not nearly as tied to them here as they are in the EU where almost all Volvo dealers (all?) service Polestars, here it's very hit-and-miss.

Now does Polestar need to generate some real sales growth, particularly in the USA? Absolutely they do.

 

My experience with University Volvo was not great to begin with. Guess we'll wait to see how this impacts the after sales landscape.

 

Yeah they don’t seem to know/care much about polestars. At the 2 year service I asked for the data on battery health and they just printed something that said “good”. I asked for a detailed breakdown and they said I didn’t need it because the battery was good. Wasn’t thrilled with the interaction on that.

 

Get ready for retail traders and people who don't understand markets to cry out that the sky is falling.

 

well, Polestar stock value is almost zero. Polestar didn't meet their sales goal twice in a year (they revised the projection and not even that was wet). sky is not falling but looks overcast and the forecast is not great (in general for all ev makers)
only the big ones will survive

 

If Fisker can still exist I think Polestar will be fine for a while 😂

I think it's mostly related to Volvo wanting to focus on their own electric offerings, which makes sense. Geely should keep the brand as it has some equity in europe.

 

Which reminds me, I should probably cancel my reservation and get my money back before I have to use my section 75 rights

 

Also thinking about this for a second the 3 was supposed to be out by now but has been plagued by software problems (I believe that's on a shared Volvo platform). The 4 is out already (on a shared Zeeker platform).

To me, Polestar has always been a balance of Swedish design with Chinese technology.

Say what you will about Chinese cars but the modern tech in their electric platforms is very impressive.

Also, if the 4 is anything to go by moving more towards China for the tech and platform is not necessarily a bad thing.

So going forwards it may well be better to just use the same platform for all of their future cars.

 

This is wonderful news!

First off, many Volvo dealerships in the US do not, and will not service Polestar's. ...so, for many markets, it simply doesn't matter.

Secondly, and lest we forget, the biggest reliability issue for Polestar was imported from Volvo when Polestar used the same TCAM hardware as Volvo (that also had this issue).

Third, if you look at the new Polestar models slated to come out in the next few years, and with the exception of the P3, what Polestar has in the works looks nothing like Volvo's...which, as far as I am concerned, is a good thing.

Whether Volvo separates from Polestar, or Polestar separating from Volvo, or whether it was a mutual parting of the ways, it was inevitable, and allows Polestar to begin distinguishing it's OWN identity.

 

The reality is that these cars are going to need service and repairs. Parts wear out. Accidents happen. Vandalism and theft damage occur. Selling a car with no service partners is not a viable business model. No one is going to pay $100K for a disposable car.

Here, the service is handled by Volvo.

Today's announcement puts that into question and causes me a great deal of consumer anxiety. Without a reliable service partner, I'm not sure I could pull the trigger on buying a Polestar.

I sincerely hope Polestar and Volvo (or any auto group really) make a joint announcement affirming their commitment to servicing Polestar cars for the foreseeable future.

 

Korean EV slide...just like everybody else:

Korea boosts subsidies to rev up falling EV sales - The Korea Times

The Korean government will temporarily offer more subsidies to customers purchasing electric vehicles (EVs), as part of policy incentives to revive...

www.koreatimes.co.kr

 

EV9 doesn't count imo, as it's too new/barely available. It's also on the more expensive side, relative to their other offerings.

Hyundai and Kia are 'pulling ahead' with strong EV demand despite rival concerns

Despite concerns over a cooling EV market, Hyundai and Kia are “very bullish” as demand for their electric vehicles remains...

electrek.co

Hyundai/Kia is primed to take a lead as they have competitive, price-effective products with lots of room to drop prices (like Tesla).

Makes hawking $60-100k EVs are the ones struggling with too much supply, not enough demand.

I posted too soon:

Kia EV9 sales are heating up in the US

Kia’s new three-row electric SUV is gaining momentum in the US. Over 1,400 Kia EV9 models were handed over in...

electrek.co

 

KIA CEO Recognized EV9 is not Selling as Expected - Korean Car Blog

We already have talked about EV9 sluggish sales in South Korea and now, Kia's CEO Ho-Sung Song, talked about at KIA EV Day where...

thekoreancarblog.com

 

It is more than distancing. Volvo and Polestar will be like Volvo and Zeekr.
Many I know in Sweden think of Polestar as Volvo and is a big reason for them selling good here. They need that connection. Who are they now? Another Chinese EV company?

 

It is more than distancing. Volvo and Polestar will be like Volvo and Zeekr.
Many I know in Sweden think of Polestar as Volvo and is a big reason for them selling good here. They need that connection. Who are they now? Another Chinese EV company?

You do realize that a Chinese company already owns (controlling interest) Volvo, don't you? Manufacturing wise, Volvo has 3 plants in China, more than any other country. Then there's this latest EV news:

2025 Volvo EX30: Next year’s most important EV comes from China?

The Chinese-built subcompact SUV starts well below $40,000, in a world of $50K-plus EVs; that’s turning a lot of heads

www.greencarreports.com

Per a number of business articles on this topic, Volvo is pulling out of financially backing Polestar, but the two will still cooperate on R&D.

"Volvo said it is considering restructuring its ownership in Polestar, and could hand over control of its stake to China's Geely (GELYF), Volvo's parent. "This may result in Geely Sweden Holdings becoming a significant new shareholder," in Polestar."

 

To be fair it's not like Volvo isn't working with Geely themselves. I would say Polestar has had a good birth, best of both worlds. If they can keep Chinese tech and Swedish design, that's a win no?

 

You mean like Zeekr?

 

IMO, the far bigger issue for fledgling EV brands, is the slowdown in EV sales.

Tesla, and a couple of Chinese brands are in the best position to survive a world-wide EV slowdown...and that includes Volvo. In the US, with the exception of Tesla, all the other EV makers are fighting over the scrapes. A combined Volvo and Polestar EV sales, in 2023, only captured a little over 2% of the total EV sales in the US. Peanuts. Even the next biggest contenders to Tesla, Hyundai/Kia and Ford, only have about 8% of the EV market.

And with Tesla slashing prices, and other EV manufacturers having to follow suite, to remain cost competitive,....profit margins will be down to the bone.

Independently, both Volvo and Polestar could suffer a slow death....much like Saab did in the 90's. Volvo has the infrastructure and name recognition, but see Polestar as having the more innovative and exciting new products for the next few years.

If Volvo has announced there will be a parting of the ways, then so be it....and would rather be partnered with someone that has a deeper pocket to weather the storm.

 

Why is Polestar so bad at this stuff? Now this will be the story for the week instead of the PS4 launch. Polestar just can't get a break but some of the damage is self-inflicted. Where is the public announcement assuring owners and potential buyers that Polestar is sticking around and they have a plan to ensure their cars can be serviced?

I'll be honest, I'm a Polestar fanboy but this does trouble me and makes me question my decision to buy a PS4.

Polestar allows others to control their narrative. Say what you want about Elon Musk, the one thing he did right was not allowing anyone else to control Tesla's narrative.

 

Polestar allows others to control their narrative. Say what you want about Elon Musk, the one thing he did right was not allowing anyone else to control Tesla's narrative.

If Tesla had just started selling EV's around the same time as Polestar, and/ or other new, startup brands, Tesla/Musk would have faced the same issues. New ventures are always going to be beholden to those who financially control the strings. Tesla almost went out of business - twice. Look up the history. They are in the position they are, today, for two major reasons - (1) No EV competition for nearly a decade, and (2) The sale of carbon credits....to the tune of many billions of dollars from the Federal Government. Tesla was heavily subsidized by the US Government many years. Polestar got about 2 years of federal subsidies in the US until 2022.

 

Minimally, this will not bode well for service and parts availability. Polestar simply does not have the independent dealer network to stand on its own.

 

Servicing is their Achilles heel. This announcement doesn't help.

 

You mean like Zeekr?

I don't know much about them sadly, not in the UK yet.

Servicing is their Achilles heel. This announcement doesn't help.

If something goes wrong, fair point. But EVs require less servicing. The 4 is three years or 30,000 miles.

I have an Audi Q4 and trust me, a dealer network means nothing when it comes to EVs. They know nothing.

 

If something goes wrong, fair point. But EVs require less servicing. The 4 is three years or 30,000 miles.

I have an Audi Q4 and trust me, a dealer network means nothing when it comes to EVs. They know nothing.

Having a servicing network, even if they are less than optimal, goes a long way to improve consumer confidence over having no servicing options. It's not like you can take your EV to your local independent garage and hope they can fix it.

 

Like I originally said, this is not quite the ordeal people are making it out to be. Geely is the puppet master here, so shuffling stocks between Geely and Volvo (which Geely owns) has no real meaning other than to drive up market valuation for Volvo, because.....retail and automated traders are dumb.

Geely owns approximately 80% of Volvo shares.

Polestar is basically a 50/50 venture between Geely and Volvo(which is also really Geely).

So Volvo (really Geely) divesting stocks of Polestar to Geely, is just a shell game.


And the parts and maintenance aspect will remain, because again....it's all really essentially Geely.

 

100% correct.

But a sad commentary from some of the haters, they are trying to spin this as best they can, into a lot about nothing.

IMO, the biggest downside of this is that for some prospective Polestar buyer who see this, they will either delay or buy something else. Biggest impact will be on sales, not service, etc.

"Volvo said it will remain a strategic partner of Polestar's in research and development, manufacturing, sales, and service."

Ultimately, if Volvo was to stop cooperating with Polestar on sales, parts and service...that would also negatively impact Geely, the goose that holds all the strings.

 

It may not be that the sky is falling (yet). However, it is equally naive to look at all the bad news coming out if Polestar (product delays, financial issues, layoffs, etc.) and claim, "nothing to see here, everything is just great, all part of the plan". When I hear people doing that I keep envisioning Monty Pythin's Black Knight. ... "tis just a scratch!".

 

LMAO, there's lots to see here...but this is a perturbation.

Fundamentally, the real issue, as I've already said, is the slowdown in EV sales...slowdowns that ultimately force manufactures to cut prices to keep sales up...cutting costs for a startup is much more difficult than it is for a major company that have reserves. Furthermore, startups are already heavily leverage financially to get factories up and running, which takes time (delays) and money for manpower and factory equipment,ent.

Now, if Geely had announced they were selling off, that would be worrisome...but they didn't. Volvo did. Volvo shares of Polestar are likely to go to Geely Sweden. So what?

 

Neither here, nor there… but sometimes I think I’m beginning to know what it was like to have bought a DeLorean new in 1981.

 

I wish more people would remember this.

But nope, Elon is god.

I don't like Elon, and know for fact that many of his statements are either flat out lies, or misleading information. I would never trust Elon on anything he says, without first checking the information. I honestly believe he bought Twitter just so he had his own platform to spread his brand of half-truths.

Speaking of Musk's slipper ways - Love the latest story about some of the Tesla shareholders are suing Musk to have the Courts cancel the "over the top" pay structure he forced down Tesla board a while back. Turns out a Court in Delaware, where Tesla is incorporated, over turned Musk's "compensation package". Being the sore loser and child that Musk is, yesterday, he Tweeted out to his loyal cult members asking if Tesla should change it's incorporation from Delaware to Texas?? So today, he revealed the supposed results of this poll. Such a narcissist.

But I will give Musk credit, where credit is do. He is an opportunist, and can spot a niche, or opportunity..and capitalize on it.

 

So many here completely miss the point

Polestar isn't trying to be Chevy or Tesla, they're trying for smaller production numbers and more profitability

You will never see a polestar on every corner just like you don't see Volvo everywhere now

The business model for mass market commodity is different than polestar

 

That said, I do see the need to reassure existing and future customers, that little will change as a result of Volvo's announcement to divert Volvo's money to tackle their own product development issues. But I certainly do NOT see Volvo's move impacting service, or parts availability. It may delay the launch of new models...but that's another issue.

 

Wait, so we are saying Polestar is the next Apple?

Another superior product was headquartered just down the road from me. Remember the Commodore Amiga?

Reality is that Polestar's fate is very uncertain. A car company has to execute almost flawlessly on many fronts (product, manufacturing, sales, service, marketing) to succeed in a very competitive market. Will their new products turn the tide or will they be too little too lat. It's a huge unknown.

Even though Volvo is China owned, many people do not realize that, or deny it, so they can claim their Polestar is made by Volvo. Given hostility towards "made in China", the latest developments will not help sales.

I love my PS2, I don't want to be stuck with an orphan car, I hope they succeed. Still, passion for the product does not negate concerns about their ongoing viability as a business. Would you invest in opening a Polestar dealership right now?

 

Wait, so we are saying Polestar is the next Apple?

Who said that?

Reality is that Polestar's fate is very uncertain. A car company has to execute almost flawlessly on many fronts (product, manufacturing, sales, service, marketing) to succeed in a very competitive market. Will their new products turn the tide or will they be too little too lat. It's a huge unknown.

Tell us something we don't know? Really? Every startup's future its "uncertain". Even Tesla had several moments in their future that almost derailed them. Same goes with Apple.

Even though Volvo is China owned, many people do not realize that, or deny it, so they can claim their Polestar is made by Volvo. Given hostility towards "made in China", the latest developments will not help sales.

Think you're wrong.

Everybody I know that asks be about the Polestar, knows Polestar is owned by a Chinese company. Everybody. Maybe I just travel in a smarter group of people? That said, I tell them the truth - Polestar is owned by a Chinese company, and the P2 is manufactured in China (but that will be changing with the new models), but the design and engineering of the car is definitely Swedish.

Funny thing about this Chinese ownership...all the Volvo owners on the block, know it's a Chinese owned company. I think you do not give people enough credit about what they know, or don't know.

Finally, I don't think the rest of the world, outside the US, gives a f*ck where the car is made. Chinese cars are already populating much of Europe.

This latest news will no doubt give some prospective buyers pause...at least until a formal announcement from Geely, or another partner saying they are stepping in to provide the needed finances.

I love my PS2, I don't want to be stuck with an orphan car, I hope they succeed. Still, passion for the product does not negate concerns about their ongoing viability as a business. Would you invest in opening a Polestar dealership right now?

Seriously man, as someone who professed to know about Apple, you should know that any startup is vulnerable for failure. Think Tesla almost declared bankruptcy, even 8 years after it launched it's first car. It's the nature of the beast...and for people that get queasy and nervous, suggest they stay away from any startup product. If you want 100% assurances, get a Ford...they've been around more than a century, so think they're a safe bet.

 

Big fail from Polestar’s communications division to not have issued a note to owners describing what this means for them. Instead we have only speculation on the forum. Thomas should fire Tanya Ridd his head of comms. She came from Spotify. That’s the problem - the comms person thinks the car is an music app rather than a machine that requires long term service.

 

There's so few of us it might just be taking him some time to call us each individually 😂😂😂

 

I agree Polestar/Thomas Ingenlath could and should do more to vocally get ahead of this news and to bury it with the P4 and P3 launches.
They did put out this press release to explain the situation: Polestar welcomes Geely’s long-term commitment to its development and growth as an independent exclusive performance brand | Polestar

But, their PR and investor relations team absolutely should be managing this situation more proactively to both bury it with other news (how about open the P3 configurator?? start hyping the P4 in N America and ROW???) and with Thomas doing the rounds on CNBC, bloomberg, etc to manage investor concerns. Every time there's any hint of news, good or bad, that needs to get out there you'll see Musk, RJ Scaringe, or principals from Lucid (CEO, CTO, etc) doing rounds of interviews and YouTube clips to promote the good, and explain away or bury the bad.

I'm utterly confused by whatever Polestar's strategy for public/investor relations is here. If this isn't Thomas's thing then they need to hire a CHO - Chief Hype Officer - to do it.

At the least, they need to proactively tell existing and proactive customers that servicing, etc is fully in place and will stay that way for the future. Not just a press release saying so but like an affirmative "we got you". Something more than a press release from Geely also couldn't hurt.

I'm subscribed to every Polestar newsletter and I haven't received ANYTHING this past week from Polestar, whether about the P4 launch or this back end reorganization. Communication has never been their strong suit and this whole thread, is a result.

 

If this isn't Thomas's thing then they need to hire a CHO - Chief Hype Officer - to do it.

Sign me up. I'm a Polestar fanboy and can't stand to see such a great company being sandbagged and not responding or better yet being proactive to get in front of negative press and control the narrative.

 

See Thomas's letter to the community he posted on Polestar Community. This is a good start. We need more of this and a specific clarification of the servicing situation:

https://www.polestar-forum.com/threads/thomas-ingenlath-letter-to-the-community.13420/