Polestar reported a new sales record for the first four months of this year. At the same time, the electric car brand is reducing its planned number of vehicle sales to customers for 2022 from 65,000 to around 50,000 units.
This is said to be the result of the ongoing government COVID lockdowns in China in the first half of 2022. Nevertheless, this would be a significant increase from 2021, when the target was 29,000 vehicles worldwide, which was also achieved.
While the company said its strong order intake showed its ability to meet its 2022 target of 65,000 vehicles sold, it faces supply chain constraints that continue to challenge the entire automotive industry.
However, it does not refer to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The reduction for 2022 is 100% attributable to the lockdowns in China,” Polestar wrote. By implementing a response plan that includes an immediate introduction of a second production shift at the plant, Polestar hopes to make up for some of the lost production it has suffered over the course of the year.
In the first four months of the year, Polestar’s e-car sales more than doubled to around 13,600 compared to the same period in 2021, while the company’s order intake more than tripled to almost 23,000 vehicles.
Polestar remains confident of achieving the targeted sales figures for 2023 to 2025. This is also necessary. The car rental company Hertz alone has ordered up to 65,000 electric cars from Polestar to be integrated into its fleet within five years. However, the order is only for 65,000 Polestar-branded vehicles in general, not for specific models. At present, the Swedish Geely subsidiary has the Polestar 2, a mid-size electric sedan, in its programme; the Polestar 3, Polestar 4 and Polestar 5 models will follow in the coming years. Since the exact distribution of the 65,000 vehicles among the model series and also the prices for the coming models have not yet been determined, it is difficult to quantify the exact volume at present. The only thing that is clear is that Hertz will “initially” order the Polestar 2.
Keyword: Polestar lowers EV production targets for 2022