Reporter | Li Wenbo
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Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, Polestar, announced its 2021 performance: a total of 29,000 new cars were delivered worldwide, up 185% year-on-year.
The market coverage was expanded from 10 to 19, with the increase mainly coming from the European and Asia-Pacific markets. In the first half of this year, Polestar plans to enter European markets such as Spain, Portugal and Ireland and Middle Eastern markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Israel. By the end of 2023, Polestar's global business will cover at least 30 markets.
In response to the expansion plan, Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, said, "The Polestar brand is actively moving towards a more ambitious goal, and we are full of confidence in the listing plan. ”
In terms of sales outlet distribution, the number of Global Retail Outlets of Polestar will exceed 100 in 2021, more than doubling; this number is expected to increase to 150 by the end of 2022. In addition to polestar space in the heart of the city, Polestar is also actively launching a new concept of Polestar Destination located on the outskirts of the city, with the first store opening in the suburbs of Gothenburg, Sweden, in December 2021.
In terms of the Chinese market, the core engine of global automobile development, Polestar achieved a year-on-year growth rate of 471% in 2021, and the retail network increased from 15 to 20, covering major sales markets such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou.
Nathan Forshaw, President of Polestar China and Asia Pacific, said: "The Polestar brand is rooted in China, with Polestar 1, Polestar 2 and Polestar 3 all produced in China, and a new factory is currently under construction. ”
Polar star 1 will be manufactured by the Chengdu production base, Polestar 2 will be manufactured by the Taizhou factory in China, and Polestar Precision will be manufactured by a brand new factory in China.
For the next three years, Polestar will launch a new pure electric product every year. The Polestar 3 will be available in 2022 and is the first Polestar model to be produced both in China and the United States. Polestar 3 will use leading hardware such as Luminar aurora radar and NVIDIA self-driving SoC chip to create a hardware benchmark for smart electric vehicles.
The Polestar 4 will be released in 2023 as a mid-size high-performance pure electric Coupe SUV model.
The high-performance all-electric 4-door GT coupe Polestar 5 will be officially launched in 2024, and it is a production version of the Polestar Precept concept car.
In mid-December 2021, Polestar disclosed a three-year plan to achieve financial balance in 2023 and first profit in 2025. At the same time, the German high-end brand Porsche is placed within its own competitive vision.
Polestar is working on an internal motor code-named P10 that can produce 450 kilowatts of power, about 50 percent more than the most powerful motor Porsche has ever built. Like the Porsche Taycan, the motor will also feature a two-speed transmission, and its compact (36 x 50 x 64 cm) dimensions will allow it to easily fit into any size of car.
In April 2021, PoleStar announced that it has received US$550 million in financing from Chongqing Chengxing Equity Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership), Zibo Financial Holdings Co., Ltd., Zibo High-tech Industry Investment Co., Ltd., and I Cube Capital Fund under SK Group of South Korea.
In September 2021, Polestar announced that it would be listed on the NASDAQ through a merger with gores Guggenheim, a special purpose acquisition company. The new company, named Polestar Automotive Holding UK Limited under the ticker symbol "PSNY", is valued at $20 billion, or about 129.2 billion yuan.
Gores Guggenheim is a typical SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) acquired in delaware, USA, on December 21, 2020.
Under the new agreement for the NASDAQ stock exchange public offering, Volvo will invest $600 million in Polestar, retaining nearly 50% of the new company's shares. The newly formed Gores Guggenheim SPAC will invest $800 million, with investors from top institutions injecting $250 million.
One data for reference is that in 2018, Chinese electric vehicle start-up NIO completed an initial public offering, with a valuation of $6.4 billion, and the valuation of Polestar was 3 times that of NIO.