Polestar

This article is about the car manufacturer. For the celestial body, see Pole star. For other uses, see Polestar (disambiguation).

Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: PSNY
Founded2017; 7 years ago (2017)
Headquarters
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsElectric vehicle
RevenueIncrease US$2.46 billion (2022)
Decrease −US$1.3 billion (2022)
Increase −US$466 million (2022)
Total assetsIncrease US$3.94 billion (2022)
Total equityIncrease US$134 million (2022)
Owner
Number of employees
2,377 (December 2022)
Websitepolestar.com
Footnotes / references
[4][5][6]
Polestar
OwnerVolvo Cars
CountrySweden
Introduced2005; 19 years ago (2005)
Previous ownersPolestar Racing (2005–2015)

Polestar is a Swedish automotive manufacturer that produces electric cars. Principally owned by Li Shufu's PSD Investment, Geely Holding and Volvo Cars (each with ties to the Geely industrial conglomerate),[2][3] the company is headquartered in Torslanda outside Gothenburg, Sweden.[7] With an "asset-light" approach in development and manufacturing, Polestar does not have its own manufacturing facility,[8] instead it produces cars in facilities controlled by Volvo or Geely in several countries, including China, the United States, and South Korea.[9][10]

The brand originated from Flash Engineering, a Swedish motorsport team established in 1996 that competed in the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. In 2005, the team was sold then rebranded to Polestar Racing, which later operated a production car tuning division called Polestar Performance AB.[11][12] In July 2015, the Polestar brand was acquired by Volvo Cars, which repositioned the brand as an electric vehicle manufacturer since 2017.[13] The racing team was then rebranded to Cyan Racing, while still maintaining close ties to Volvo.[14]

The current United Kingdom-based holding company of Polestar, Polestar Automotive Holdings UK PLC was jointly formed in 2021 by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding Group.[15][16] Polestar shares began trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol PSNY on 24 June 2022.[17][18]

In February 2024, Volvo (itself 79.5% owned by Geely at the time) announced that it would attempt to reduce its ownership stake in Polestar from 48% to 18%, by transferring US$921 million of stock to its shareholders.[2] This would result in PSD Investment (Geely founder Li Shufu's personal company[19]) becoming the largest shareholder with at least a 39% stake.[2] According to a Polestar news release to its investors, in April 2024, Geely Holdings became a major new shareholder, directly owning approximately 24% of Polestar.[3] The free float also rose to about 18% of shares at that time,[3] signifying that Volvo's February plan had been substantially realized.

  1. ^ "POLESTAR AUTOMOTIVE HOLDING UK PLC overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Lindeberg, Rafaela (23 February 2024), "Volvo is ditching most of its stake in struggling Tesla rival Polestar", Fortune website, archived from the original on 23 February 2024, retrieved 17 June 2024, Volvo Car currently holds around 48% in Polestar. The share transfer will have to be approved by Volvo Car shareholders at the company's annual general meeting next month. Geely owns 79.5% in Volvo Car, while Li Shufu holds a roughly 39% stake in Polestar.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Polestar announces global volumes for the first quarter; growing line-up of luxury SUV's to drive revenue and margin progression", Polestar Investors website, 11 April 2024, archived from the original on 8 September 2024, Polestar's ownership structure has been clarified, with Geely Holdings becoming a major new shareholder, with approximately 24% and Volvo Cars retaining a strategic 18% stake. Furthermore, the Company will welcome new shareholders and see its free float increase to approximately 18%.
  4. ^ "Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC 2022 Annual Report (Form 20-F)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 14 April 2023. pp. 98, F-5, F-6. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Volvo Cars increases shareholding in Polestar to 49.5 per cent" (Press release). Media.volvocars.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Volvo to reduce its stake in Polestar from 48 to 18 per cent". electrive.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Polestar inaugurates new headquarters in Sweden" (Press release). Polestar. Retrieved 29 November 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ Holt, Nick (15 August 2024). "Polestar starts US production of the Polestar 3". Automotive Manufacturing Solutions. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Polestar Bets on US, Korea to Avoid 'Made in China' EV Tariffs". Bloomberg.com. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  10. ^ Cole, Dani (17 November 2023). "Polestar 4 China production starts". Just Auto. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Volvo S60 Polestar Limited Edition". Polestar AB. 2013. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  12. ^ "Polestar Performance gives your Volvo more performance". Polestar AB. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Polestar announces new management team" (Press release). Polestar. Retrieved 29 November 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  14. ^ "History". Cyan Racing. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Report of Foreign Private Issuer Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 Or 15d-16 Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the Month of July, 2022 - Commission File Number: 001-41431 - Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC". Polestar. United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Polestar lists successfully on Nasdaq" (Press release). investors.polestar.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  18. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (27 September 2021). "Electric car company Polestar is going public via SPAC". The Verge. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  19. ^ Neuhauser, Alan (7 November 2022), "Polestar's emergency tuneup", Axios, archived from the original on 21 June 2024, retrieved 8 November 2024, Chinese billionaire Li Shufu has committed an equal amount via a firm he controls, PSD Investment.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)