-- Record first quarter volumes of 13,126 cars, a growth of 7%
year-on-year
-- Largest product offensive launched: four new models planned in next
three years
-- Performance impacted by intensified competition, EU and US tariffs, FX
and seasonality offsetting continued cost reductions
-- Strengthened capital structure and improved liquidity position
-- Cash position of USD 676 million as of end Q1 2026
GOTHENBURG, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 07, 2026--
Polestar (Nasdaq: PSNY) reports select unaudited financial and operational results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 (Q1 2026).
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Michael Lohscheller, Polestar CEO, said: "The first quarter saw us deliver strong volume growth in a very competitive market. With implemented steps to improve our cost base being offset by more challenging market conditions, we are accelerating efforts to adjust our business model, become leaner and improve manufacturing efficiencies.
"Commercially, our focus remains on scaling our business by expanding our retail network, especially in Europe, with plans to reach 250 sales points globally by the end of 2026. This will help us capitalise on our growing model line-up, which targets wider, more profitable segments. Deliveries of the new Polestar 4 variant are planned to start during the latter part of the year, closely followed by the all-new Polestar 2 in 2027 and thereafter Polestar 7 compact SUV."
Key financial highlights
(in millions of
U.S. dollars) For the three months ended March 31,
------------------- -------------------------------------- ----------
2026 2025 Change, %
------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
Retail sales, units 13,126 12,263 7.0
-------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
Revenue 633 632 0.2
-------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
Gross (Loss) /
Profit (20) 65 (130.8)
-------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
Gross margin, % (3.2)% 10.3% -13.5 ppts
-------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
Adjusted Gross
(Loss) / Profit
(non-GAAP) (1) (21) 65 (132.3)
-------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
Adjusted Gross
Margin (non-GAAP)
(1) , % (3.3)% 10.3% -13.6ppts
-------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
Net loss (383) (166) (130.7)
-------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
Adjusted EBITDA
(non-GAAP) (1) (235) (96) (144.8)
-------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
(1) Non-GAAP measures. See the reconciliation of non-GAAP metrics to the
nearest GAAP measure in Appendix A.
-- Retail sales totaled an estimated 13,126 cars, up 7.0% YoY from 12,263
cars a year earlier, supported by continuous retail expansion, an
attractive model line-up, and growing sales of Polestar 4.
-- Revenue of USD 633 million, up 0.2% from USD 632 million in the
comparable period, driven predominantly by higher volumes and positive
foreign exchange impact related to the pound sterling and euro movements
against the U.S. dollar offset mainly by significant pressure on pricing,
the product mix, which included fewer Polestar 3 cars but more Polestar 4
vehicles and lower carbon credits sales. Carbon credits sales totaled USD
21 million in the period down from USD 29 million a year earlier, of
which USD 17 million was booked as revenue and USD 4 million was booked
in other operating income.
-- Gross margin at (3.2)%, from 10.3% in Q1 2025, and Adjusted Gross
Margin at (3.3)%, from 10.3% in Q1 2025, due mainly to further pressure
on pricing, EU and US tariffs, lower carbon credits sales and one-off
impacts, partially offset by growth in volumes, an increasing share of
higher margin Polestar 4 in the product mix and continued product cost
reduction.
-- Net loss of USD (383) million, compared to net loss of USD (166)
million a year earlier, driven by gross loss result, and mainly the
negative foreign exchange impact related to Chinese yuan movements on
operating and financing liabilities. Selling, General and Administrative
(SG&A) expenses were impacted by higher sales agent remuneration linked
to growth of volumes, one-off personnel-related costs and the timing of
marketing events despite ongoing strict cost discipline across SG&A;
Research and Development (R&D) expenses were stable.
-- Adjusted EBITDA of USD (235) million, compared to adjusted EBITDA of
USD (96) million in the comparable period, due mainly to gross loss
result, factors mentioned above and negative foreign exchange movements
on operating liabilities.
-- Cash position of USD 676 million compared to USD 1,159 million as of
December 31, 2025. The change in the cash position was primarily driven
by Adjusted EBITDA loss, net negative movement in working capital and net
repayment of financing facilities offset by equity proceeds in the first
quarter of 2026. While inventory levels reduced, this positive impact on
working capital was more than offset by cash outflows from settlement of
payables.
-- Further details are provided in the reconciliation table for non-GAAP
measures in Appendix A.
Key operational highlights
The table below summarizes key operational highlights for the three months ended March 31, 2026:
For the three months ended March 31,
------------------- -------------------------------------- ----------
2026 2025 Change, %
Retail sales (1) 13,126 12,263 7.0
including external
vehicles with
repurchase
obligations 350 182 92.3
including internal
vehicles 724 406 78.3
Markets(2) 28 27 + 1 market
Sales points(3,4) 230 159 44.7
of which sales
points, excluding
China 230 154 49.4
Service points(5) 1,241 1,190 4.3
-------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ----------
(1) Retail sales figures are sales to end customers. Retail Sales include
new cars handed over via all sales channels and all sales types,
including but not restricted to internal, fleet, retail, rental and
leaseholders' channels across all markets irrespective of their market
model and setup and may or may not generate revenue directly for
Polestar.
(2) Represents the markets in which Polestar operates.
(3) Represents Sales Points, including retail locations which are physical
facilities (such as showrooms), actively selling Polestar cars, and
pre-space activations, which represent locations with an ongoing
project to build a retail location that have already started selling
Polestar cars.
(4) In April 2025, Polestar signed an agreement to terminate the business
of the Joint Venture and transfer the PRC distribution rights and
certain assets from the JV to Polestar, so as to allow Polestar to
resume direct sales, customer service and distribution activities in
the Chinese market.
(5) Represents Volvo Cars service centers to provide access to customer
service points worldwide in support of Polestar's international
expansion.
-- Sales points continue to grow, as the transition to an active selling
model continues and we ramp up retail expansion. In Q1 2026, Polestar
opened 19 new retail sales points bringing the total to 230 sales points
at the end of Q1 2026. During the same period, Polestar signed up 14 new
retailers, to reach the total of 172 retail partners, an increase of 8.9%
from the end of December 2025.
-- The increase in external sales with a repurchase obligation is
primarily related to the commercial activity in the German market.
-- Polestar increased sales of internal cars to support its retail network
expansion in Europe.
Key loan facilities and funding highlights
-- Over USD 1.4 billion worth of facilities renewed in Q1 2026
-- In February 2026, Green Trade Finance Facility (TFF) with a
syndicate of global banks restructured and renewed for EUR 400
million. Additionally, approximately USD 570 million in working
capital loans were renewed.
-- In March 2026, approx. USD 380 million in working capital
facilities were renewed.
-- An additional EUR 50 million to Green Trade Finance Facility (TFF) has
been credit-approved by Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, subject to
completion of the relevant syndicate documentation.
-- As previously announced, during Q1 2026, Polestar secured a total of
USD 0.7 billion of new equity from several financial institutions.
Concurrent with their equity investments, these financial institutions
each entered into a put option arrangement with a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Geely Sweden Holdings AB. These equity investments consist of the
following:
-- In February 2026, Polestar secured USD 400 million from
Feathertop Funding Limited, a special purpose vehicle consolidated
to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Standard Chartered
Bank (Hong Kong) Limited.
-- In March 2026, Polestar secured USD 300 million from investors
including Credit Agricole CIB, Vida France S.A., Innovator Limited
and Proximaster Holdings Company.
-- Geely Sweden and Volvo Cars agreed to convert approx. USD 639 million
of loans outstanding to Polestar into equity with USD 274 million
converted by Volvo Cars on March 31, 2026; Geely Sweden is expected to
convert approx. USD 300 million and Volvo Cars is expected to convert
approx. USD 65 million later in Q2 2026.
-- On March 31, 2026, Volvo Cars extended the remaining USD 726 million
shareholder loan to December 2031.
As previously announced regarding the Company's USD 950 million 'Club loan', by end of Q1 2026, the revenue and debt-to-asset ratio covenant tests have been agreed upon and amended for Q1 2026 and the remaining test periods of 2026.
The Company was in compliance with all its covenants as of March 31, 2026.
With the support from Geely Holding Group, we have implemented significant steps to strengthen our balance sheet and improve our debt and liquidity positions, and we continue to consider new equity and debt funding.
Conference call
Michael Lohscheller, CEO, and Jean-Francois Mady, CFO, will host a conference call today, May 7, 2026, at 14:00 CET. To join the call, please use this link https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/tii8h4jg or follow the instructions available under Events on the Polestar Investor Relations website.
Publication of UK Annual Report and Accounts
The Company's UK Annual Report and Accounts has been published and is available to download via the Investor Relations website: https://investors.polestar.com/financial-information/annual-reports.
Notes
All financial figures are in millions of U.S. dollars $(USD)$. Unless stated otherwise, the performance shown in this press release covers the three-month period ended March 31, 2026 (Q1 2026), compared to the three-month period ended March 31, 2025 (Q1 2025).
Calendar
Polestar expects to report its retail sales volumes for Q2 2026 on July 9, 2026.
About Polestar
Polestar (Nasdaq: PSNY) is the Swedish electric performance car brand with a focus on uncompromised design and innovation, and the ambition to accelerate the change towards a sustainable future. Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, its cars are available in 28 markets globally across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Polestar has four models in its line-up: Polestar 2, Polestar 3, Polestar 4, and Polestar 5. Planned models include Polestar 4 new variant (to be introduced in the last quarter of 2026), Polestar 2 successor (to be launched early in 2027), Polestar 7 compact SUV (to be introduced in 2028) and the Polestar 6 roadster. With its vehicles currently manufactured on two continents, North America and Asia, Polestar is diversifying its manufacturing footprint further, with production of Polestar 7 planned in Europe.
Polestar has an unwavering commitment to sustainability and has set an ambitious roadmap to reach its climate targets: halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 per-vehicle-sold and become climate-neutral across its value chain by 2040. Polestar's comprehensive sustainability strategy covers the four areas of Climate, Transparency, Circularity, and Inclusion.
Statement regarding unaudited financial and operational results
The unaudited financial and operational information published in this press release is subject to potential adjustments. Potential adjustments to operational and consolidated financial information may be identified from work performed during Polestar's year-end audit. This could result in differences from the unaudited operational and financial information published herein. For the avoidance of doubt, the unaudited operational and financial information published in this press release should not be considered a substitute for the financial information filed with the SEC in Polestar's Annual Reports on Form 20-F.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this press release ("Press Release") may be considered "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or the future financial or operating performance of Polestar including the number of vehicle deliveries and gross margin. For example, projections of revenue, volumes, margins, cash flow break-even and other financial or operating metrics and statements regarding expectations of future needs for funding and plans related thereto are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "expect", "intend", "will", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "predict", "potential", "forecast", "plan", "seek", "future", "propose" or "continue", or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Polestar and its management, as the case may be, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: (1) Polestar's ability to enter into or maintain agreements or partnerships with its strategic partners, including Volvo Cars and Geely, original equipment manufacturers, vendors and technology providers; (2) Polestar's ability to maintain relationships with its existing suppliers, source new suppliers for its critical components and enter into longer term supply contracts and complete building out its supply chain; (3) Polestar's ability to raise additional funding; (4) Polestar's ability to successfully execute cost-cutting activities and strategic efficiency initiatives; (5) Polestar's estimates of expenses, profitability, gross margin, cash flow, and cash reserves; (6) Polestar's ability to continue to meet stock exchange listing standards; (7) changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; (8) demand for Polestar's vehicles or car sale volumes, revenue and margin development based on pricing, variant and market mix, cost reduction efficiencies, logistics and growing aftersales; (9) delays in the expected timelines for the development, design, manufacture, launch and financing of Polestar's vehicles and Polestar's reliance on a limited number of vehicle models to generate revenues; (10) increases in costs, disruption of supply or shortage of materials, in particular for lithium-ion cells or semiconductors; (11) risks related to product recalls, regulatory fines and/or an unexpectedly high volume of warranty claims; (12) Polestar's reliance on its partners to manufacture vehicles at a high volume, some of which have limited experience in producing electric vehicles, and on the allocation of sufficient production capacity to Polestar by its partners in order for Polestar to be able to increase its vehicle production volumes; (13) the ability of Polestar to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; (14) risks related to future market adoption of Polestar's offerings; (15) risks related to Polestar's current distribution model and the evolution of its distribution model in the future; (16) the effects of competition and the high barriers to entry in the automotive industry and the pace and depth of electric vehicle adoption generally on Polestar's future business; (17) changes in environmental laws, regulatory requirements (including existing regulations related to connected vehicles as well as impacts from potential or existing laws and regulations that may prevent the importation of certain electric vehicles into the US), governmental incentives, tariffs (including potentially higher than expected tariffs if customs authorities determine a vehicle does not qualify for a lower tariff due to the origin of component parts) and fuel and energy prices; (18) Polestar's reliance on the development of vehicle charging networks to provide charging solutions for its vehicles and its strategic partners for servicing its vehicles and their integrated software; (19) Polestar's ability to establish its brand and capture additional market share, and the risks associated with negative press or reputational harm, including from electric vehicle fires; (20) the outcome of any potential litigation, including litigation involving Polestar and Gores Guggenheim, Inc., government and regulatory proceedings, including the NHTSA investigation into the Polestar 2 rear view camera, tax audits, investigations and inquiries; (21) Polestar's ability to continuously and rapidly innovate, develop and market new products; (22) the impact of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the conflict with Iran and the conflict in the Red Sea; and (23) other risks and uncertainties set forth in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Polestar's Form 20-F, and other documents filed, or to be filed, with the SEC by Polestar. There may be additional risks that Polestar presently does not know or that Polestar currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.
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