Polestar Struggles Against Tesla Rivalry, Plans Polestar 4 Launch

Tesla’s Rival, Polestar
Suffers a Sales Slump
Polestar 4 is scheduled to be released in South Korea

Polestar, which emerged as a rival to Tesla, continues to decline. Recently, Polestar cut 15% of its total workforce due to sluggish sales of electric vehicles and then launched Polestar 4 in the Chinese market. Still, it failed to bring about a dramatic turnaround in sales.

Even the parent company, Volvo, sold all its shares in China’s Geely, strengthening its image as a Chinese brand. With the recent restructuring of Polestar’s shares, the first quarter performance in 2024 was released. Global market sales amounted to 7,200 units from January to March this year.

Sales are sluggish even after the launch of Polestar 4
Polestar is Seen in Transition

This is a decrease of about 40% compared to the sales volume of 12,076 units in the first quarter of last year. This is not the only problem. In 2023, Polestar could not achieve a dramatic sales turnaround despite expanding its lineup by launching Polestar 4 in some overseas markets, unlike selling only Polestar 2.

Polestar 4 recorded 1,200 units in China, accounting for 16.6% of total sales. Polestar has viewed the current situation as a type of transition. Polestar expects sales to recover through Polestar 3 and 4. PPolestar’s sales slump has continued in South Korea as well.

Sales in Korea decline after 2 years
Polestar 2 Sales Decline

Polestar Automotive KKorea’s2023 sales revenue was 77.8 billion won (about $56.22 million), a 50.6% decrease from the previous year. Two years after entering the Korean market in 2022, it recorded negative growth. This was largely due to the sales volume of Polestar 2, which decreased by 40.8% to 1,654 units. Even though the facelift version of Polestar 2 was launched in October 2023, the decline could not be reversed.

In this situation, Polestar 4 will be launched in South Korea. Polestar 3 is also scheduled to be released in South Korea, but the exact launch date is unknown. Polestar 4 is expected to compete with Tesla’s Model Y, the most popular electric vehicle model in the South Korean marHyundai’sHyundai’s IONKia’sand Kia’s EV6.

Will there be a turnaround with PolLet’s 4?
Let’s See the Level of Performance

Polestar 4 has two versions: single motor and dual motor. The single-motor version is rear-wheel drive and generates a maximum output of 268 horsepower and a maximum torque of 333Nm. The dual-motor version produces 536 horsepower and 676 Nm of torque. Both models are equipped with a battery with a capacity of 94 kWh and can travel 580 to 610 km (360 to 379 miles) based on WLTP. Upon Korean certification, it is expected to provide a driving range of 400 km (249 miles).

The price of Polestar 4 starts at 74.1 million won ($53,548) for the lowest base model and rises to 98.4 million won ($71,108), depending on the trim. Meanwhile, inexpensive and cost-effective electric vehicles are emerging in the South Korean market. As many consumers feel burdened by the price of electric cars, it is unclear how successful Polestar 4 will be in South Korea. Attention is being paid to whether Polestar can turn around sales by expanding its lineup from Polestar 4 to Polestar 3.