Polestar announced today that its global electric car deliveries during the fourth quarter of 2023 amounted to approximately 12,800 units.
It's a very worrying result with a 39% decrease in volume compared to Q4 2022, as well as one of the weakest quarters this year.
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Polestar EV lineup
Polestar's main electric model is the Polestar 2, although recently the company launched the all-new Polestar 4 model. In mid-2024, the company intends to launch the Polestar 3.
Polestar explains that the volume is lower than before, because of the focus on profitability:
"Polestar continues to protect its exclusive brand position in what remains a challenging market, resulting in fewer deliveries in the fourth quarter and now expects a gross profit margin for the full year of around break-even."
On the other hand, we can say that the company was not able to sell a higher number of cars at a profit (despite being able to produce them, like in the previous periods).
The number of 12,800 cars includes 880 Polestar 4 sold in China (production started in November), which leaves about 11,920 for the Polestar 2 model.
Polestar BEV sales in Q4'2023 (YOY change):
- Polestar 2: about 11,920 (down 43%)
- Polestar 4: about 880 (new)
- Total deliveries: approximately 12,800 (down 39%)
Polestar Electric Car Sales - Q4 2023
* some data estimated
In 2023, Polestar delivered roughly 54,600 electric cars to customers, which is just 6% more than a year ago. The relatively slow Q4 almost led to a decline in the annual result.
Polestar BEV sales in Q1-Q4'2023 (YOY change):
- Polestar 2: about 53,720 (up 4%)
- Polestar 4: about 880 (new)
- Total deliveries: approximately 54,600 (up 6%)
The results are disappointing, as the company initially planned to sell 80,000 electric cars in 2023, and later updated the guidance to 60,000-70,000, which also was not achieved.
For reference, in 2022, Polestar sold some 51,500 electric cars (up nearly 80% year-over-year). At the time it was noticeably less than the 65,000 units of the original target (lowered by 15,000 due to supply constraints). The year 2023 was the second one with sales below target.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, comments: "Polestar 4 has been very well received in China and ramping up production was an important milestone for us. Sales of our SUV coupé will start in Europe and Australia in the coming weeks. With the first deliveries of Polestar 3 expected in the summer, our shift from being a one to three-car company positions us for a transformative and exciting 2024."
