Should Volvo take Polestar (PSNY) private? Investment research firm weighs in
Should Volvo take EV maker Polestar (PSNY) private? Investment research firm Bernstein says it may make more sense.
Polestar built high-performance vehicles alongside Volvo for over two decades. After Geely bought out Volvo, Polestar was established as an independent electric vehicle brand in 2017.
The brand’s first passenger vehicle, the Polestar 1, was a hybrid that offered up to 78 miles of all-electric range. Polestar’s first all-electric vehicle, the Polestar 2, was revealed in February 2019.
Since launching the Polestar 2 over three years ago, Polestar has expanded into 27 markets globally. The Polestar 2 has become a top seller in key EV markets like Norway, Sweden, Germany, and others.
Polestar hit a milestone with its 150,000th Polestar 2 rolling off the line last August. However, the EV maker has struggled to gain ground with rising competition.
The EV maker delivered 54,600 vehicles last year, up 6% from 2022. Despite cutting its delivery target in November, Polestar still missed it by over 5,000 units. Initially, Polestar expected to deliver 80,000 vehicles last year.
Polestar believes its upcoming electric SUV and first CUV will help spark demand. After delaying Polestar 3 production, the company is expected to begin building the electric SUV in early 2024.
Meanwhile, Polestar 4 production began in China in November. The EV maker sold 880 Polestar 4 models in China last year.
Should Volvo take Polestar private?
Polestar’s deliveries fell in the last three months of the year due to a “challenging market,” according to CEO Thomas Ingenlath.
The EV maker now expects 2023 gross profit margins to be around break-even from the previously revised 2% target (down from 4%).
Although the delivery growth pushed revenue up to $367.7 million (+25%) in Q3, higher costs led to gross margins falling 63% to $36.3 million.
The rising costs led to an operating loss of $261 million (+33%). Polestar had $951.1 million in cash at the end of September, not including an additional $450 million loan from Volvo and Geely.
Polestar’s stock has fallen over 62% in the past 12 months and is down over 85% from its all-time highs.
Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska said in a note that Polestar is “on a road to nowhere.” The note added, “We love the innovative asset-light strategy, we like the cars, but we don’t think the company should be a stand-alone equity.
The investment research firm is initiating coverage on Polestar’s stock with an underperform rating. It also gave it a $1.15 target share price, suggesting over 40% downside.
Roeska said that although “we would like to see the concept and brand survive,” it believes it “would make more sense for Polestar to eventually fold back into the Volvo Cars-Geely ecosystem.
Ingenlath defended the EV maker, saying, “Anybody interested in the value of the company only needs to go to the ticker to see that it is trading at $4 billion worth.”
He didn’t reveal whether Volvo or Geely was pushing Polestar to go private. Ingenlath did say, “It’s our own interest to not make this company always dependent on being funded by our shareholders.”
Electrek’s Take
Despite Q4 deliveries slowing, Polestar has a lot to look forward to. Its first electric SUV, the Polestar 3, is expected to launch soon.
In the US, the Polestar 3 will start at $83,900. It will come in two configurations – a long-range dual motor and a performance pack version. Both will be powered by a lithium-ion battery with 111 kWh capacity.
The standard version (starting at $83,900) will include up to 300 miles EPA range. The performance version will include 517 hp and 671 lb-ft of torque for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 4.6 seconds. It will feature a 270-mile range for an MSRP of $89,900.
The electric SUV will face stiff competition, including the Rivian R1T, Tesla Model Y (and Model X), and BMW iX.
Polestar will also scale production of the Polestar 4 in China. The brand is deploying a “targetted approach” with key EVs hitting major auto markets.
Other EV startups, including Lucid, have struggled to gain traction, with new EVs flooding the market. Price cuts from leaders like Tesla and BYD have made it hard for rivals to compete.
Source: Bloomberg
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First Solar just cut the ribbon on a huge new factory in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, and it dwarfs the New Orleans Superdome. The company’s $1.1 billion, fully vertically integrated facility spans 2.4 million square feet, or about 11 times the size of the stadium’s main arena.
The factory began production quietly in July, a few months ahead of schedule, and employs more than 700 people. First Solar expects that number to hit 826 by the end of the year. Once it’s fully online, the site will add 3.5 GW of annual manufacturing capacity. That brings the company’s total US footprint to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when its newly announced South Carolina plant is anticipated to come online.
The Louisiana plant produces First Solar’s Series 7 modules using US-made materials — glass from Illinois and Ohio, and steel from Mississippi, which is fabricated into backrails in Louisiana.
The new factory leans heavily on AI, from computer vision that spots defects on the line to deep learning tools that help technicians make real‑time adjustments.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says the investment is already a win for the region, bringing in “hundreds of good-paying jobs and new opportunities for Louisiana workers and businesses.” A new economic impact analysis from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette projects that the factory will boost Iberia Parish’s GDP by 4.4% in its first full year at capacity. The average manufacturing compensation package comes in at around $90,000, more than triple the parish’s per capita income.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar framed the new facility as a major step for US clean energy manufacturing: “By competitively producing energy technology in America with American materials, while creating American jobs, we’re demonstrating that US reindustrialization isn’t just a thesis, it’s an operating reality.”
This site joins what’s already the largest solar manufacturing and R&D footprint in the Western Hemisphere: three factories in Ohio, one in Alabama, and R&D centers in Ohio and California. Just last week, First Solar announced a new production line in Gaffney, South Carolina, to onshore more Series 6 module work. By the end of 2026, the company expects to directly employ more than 5,500 people across the US.
Read more: First Solar pours $330M into a new South Carolina solar factory
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No, it’s not the new Bolt. GM’s design team previewed a new high-riding “sporty Chevrolet EV” that should be brought to life.
Is Chevy launching a new sporty EV?
This is the all-electric vehicle Chevy should sell in the US. General Motors’ design team released a series of sketches previewing a sporty new Chevy EV.
Although it kinda looks like the new 2027 Chevy Bolt EV as a higher-sitting compact crossover SUV, the design offers a fresh take on what it should have looked like.
The new Bolt is essentially a modernized version of the outgoing EUV model with a similar compact crossover silhouette. Nissan adopted a similar style with the new 2026 LEAF as buyers continue shifting from smaller sedans and hatchbacks to crossovers and SUVs.
Will we see the sporty Chevy EV in real life? It’s not likely. For one, the “exploration sketch” is by GM China Advanced designer Charles Huang.
GM Design posted the sketches on its global social media page, but the caption read “Sporty Chevrolet EV for the China Market.”
It’s too bad. The Bolt could use a sporty sibling like an SS variant. Chevy introduced the Blazer EV SS (check out our review) for the 2026 model year, its fastest “SS” model yet. Packing up to 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, the Chevy Blazer SS can race from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds when using Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode.
Will the Bolt be next? I wouldn’t get my hopes up. And if GM does bring the sporty Chevy EV to life, it will likely only be sold in China. Like all the fun cars these days.
What do you think of the design? Would you buy one of these in the US? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
While deliveries of the 2027 Bolt are set to begin in early 2026, Chevy is offering some sweet deals on its current EV lineup, including up to $4,000 off in Customer Cash and 0% APR financing for 60 months.
Ready to test drive one? You can use our links below to find Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs at a dealership near you.
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Environment
Podcast: Electricity is the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss electricity becoming the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, the new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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