Swedish electric car maker Polester saw a 76% increase in sales in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2024, after launching discounts and other promotions, including those aimed at Tesla owners’ locks.
Polestar sold 12,304 cars in the first three months of the year, compared to 6,975 people in the first quarter of 2024. Even amidst competition with other automakers and an uncertain economic outlook, sales were relatively flat quarterly.
“We’re on the right track and we’re doing the right thing,” Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller said in a statement. “We offer results with more active sales models, more retail partners, and more attractive cars.”
One of Polestar’s more “active sales” strategies was to leverage Tesla’s brand devaluation as CEO Elon Musk is involved in Doge. The company recently began offering discounts of up to $5,000 to Tesla drivers looking to lease their new Polestar 3 crossover.
Polestar creates a Polestar 2 Electric Fastback, a Polestar 3 Electric SUV, and soon a Polestar 4 Electric SUV coupe. Although carmakers don’t split sales numbers by model, in March after Polestar began offering Tesla Conquest Bonus, sales manager Jordan Hofmann posted on LinkedIn, saying that orders for the Polestar 3 were “incredible.”
Tesla also relies on discounts to increase sales, which impacts its revenue.
It is not clear how the discounts affected Polestar’s margins over the months. After securing $450 million in loans in February to slow the issuance of revenue for the full year and fourth quarter 2024 until the end of April, the automaker secured a $450 million loan to float the company when burned in cash.
The durability of Polestar discounts is unknown as President Donald Trump’s drastic tariffs and the fallout from the subsequent trade war can raise automobile prices. Polestar is manufactured in the US and China, and is expected to produce Polestar 4 in Korea in the second half of 2025.
“We are closely monitoring, assessing unstable geopolitical environments and adapting as needed,” Lohscheller said.
Polestar appears to be making changes to its business in China, but it is not yet clear whether it is a geopolitical climate response or simply a change in strategy.
In a filing on Thursday, Polestar, owned by Chinese Geely, pointed out that it has agreed to terminate its China-based joint venture with mobile phone and consumer electronics company Xingji Meizu. The two will participate in 2023 to build the operating system for Polestar cars sold in China and transfer the distribution rights of the JV to Polestar.
A JV called Polestar Times Technology can reopen its Chinese market by filing, resolve unpaid liabilities before halting operations and “transfer certain digital and other assets from the JV in an ARMESTENGREWS consideration.”
The filing points out that while the parties have terminated the JV “as a result of a change in market focus and strategy,” Polestar is “fully committed to the Chinese market.”
“China remains an important long-term market for us, and our approach is to serve our existing customers and manage our brand within a wholly owned entity,” Polestar spokesperson Mike Ofiara told TechCrunch.
This article was updated in Polestar’s China Plan Statement.
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