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EV maker Polestar’s (PSNY) stock is down Friday after reporting 2023 results. Can Polestar’s new electric models help turn things around as losses rise? The report comes as the first Polestar 3 buyers received their electric SUVs this week.

Polestar stock drops after 2023 earnings results

After several months of delaying, Polestar released its 2023 financial results Friday, showing falling revenue and widening losses.

Polestar’s revenue slipped 3% from $2.45 billion in 2022 to $2.38 billion last year. The lower top line was mainly due to increased discounts and fewer carbon credit sales.

As a result, the EV maker’s operating losses rose 13% to $1.46 billion, up from $1.29 billion in 2022. Lower revenue and rising sales costs led to higher losses. It also included a one-time share-based listing charge of $372 million and a higher impairment of $450 million after reassessing Polestar 2 inventory.

Polestar sold 54,626 vehicles last year, up 6% from the 51,549 sold in 2022. The EV maker added 34 locations and 33 service points for a total of 192 and 1,149, respectively.

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Polestar stock chart over the past 12 months (Source: TradingView)

Polestar’s stock slid 4% on Friday following the 2023 earnings release. Polestar shares are down 63% in 2024 and over 92% from its all-time high.

Can Polestar turn things around as new EVs roll out?

Despite rising losses and lower revenue, Polestar believes new EVs, like the Polestar 3 and 4, will help boost sales.

Polestar expects to sell over 155,000 vehicles next year, a significant jump from the just under 55K sold in 2023.

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Polestar delivers first Polestar 3 electric SUVs (Source: Polestar)

The news comes after Polestar delivered its first Polestar 3 models to customers this week. Polestar is delivering the electric SUV across two continents as it rolls out to new markets throughout the year.

The first Polestar 3s were delivered in Sweden, while the North American Polestar 2 is handing over the first models in California, New York, and Illinois. On Friday, more models will be delivered to Germany and Norway.

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Polestar 3 Long range Single motor RWD model (Source: Polestar

Polestar also introduced a new lower-priced Long range Single Motor Polestar 3 model this week. The lower-cost model is available in Europe, starting at $85,500 (€79,890), including the handover fee. It will be available to order in the US, Australia, and other markets later this year.

Polestar will begin Polestar 3 production in South Carolina this summer to expand the brand in the US.

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New 2025 Polestar 2 (Source: Polestar)

With the US setting a new 100% tariff rate on Chinese EVs, Polestar looks to overcome it with local production.

As the EV maker looks to gain market share, it also launched the new 2025 Polestar 2 with added Swedish Gold design elements and more range.

Can Polestar’s new EVs help boost sales? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Kia’s EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK right now

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Kia's EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK right now

Kia’s electric SUVs are taking over. The EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK this year, giving Kia its strongest sales start since it arrived 34 years ago. And it’s not just in the UK. Kia just had its best first quarter globally since it started selling cars in 1962.

Kia EV3 is the best-selling EV in the UK through March

In March, Kia sold a record nearly 20,000 vehicles in the UK, making it the fourth best-selling brand. It was also the second top-seller of electrified vehicles (EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs), accounting for over 55% of sales.

The EV3 remained the best-selling retail EV in the UK last month. Including the EV6, three-row EV9, and Niro EV, electric vehicles represented 21% of Kia’s UK sales in March.

Kia said the EV3 “started with a bang” in January, darting out as the UK’s most popular EV in retail sales. Through March, Kia’s electric SUV has held on to the crown. With the EV3 rolling out, Kia sold over 7,000 electric cars through March, nearly 50% more than in Q1 2024.

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The EV3 was the best-selling retail EV in the UK in the first quarter and the fourth best-selling EV overall, including commercial vehicles.

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Kia EV3 Air 91.48 kWh in Frost Blue (Source: Kia UK)

Starting at £33,005 ($42,500), Kia said it’s the “brand’s most affordable EV yet.” It’s available with two battery packs, 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, good for 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles) of WLTP range, respectively.

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From left to right: Kia EV6, EV3, and EV9 (Source: Kia UK)

With new EVs on the way, this could be just the start. Kia is launching several new EVs in the UK this year, including the EV4 sedan (and hatchback) and EV5 SUV. It also confirmed that the first PV5 electric vans will be delivered to customers by the end of the year.

Electrek’s Take

Globally, Kia sold a record 772,351 vehicles in the first quarter, its best since it started selling cars in 1962. With the new EV4, the brand’s first electric sedan and hatchback, launching this year, Kia looks to build on its momentum in 2025.

Kia has also made it very clear that it wants to be a global leader in the electric van market with its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, starting with the PV5 later this year.

Earlier today, we learned Kia’s midsize electric SUV, the EV5, is the fourth best-selling EV in Australia through March, outselling every BYD vehicle (at least for now). The EV5 is rolling out to new markets this year, including Canada, the UK, South Korea, and Mexico. However, it will not arrive in the US.

For those in the US, there are still a few Kia EVs to look forward to. Kia is launching the EV4 globally, including in the US, later this year. Although no date has been set, Kia confirmed the EV3 is also coming. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2026.

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Podcast: Tesla’s disastrous deliveries, more Trump tariffs, EV delivery numbers, and more

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Podcast: Tesla's disastrous deliveries, more Trump tariffs, EV delivery numbers, 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 Tesla’s disastrous deliveries, more Trump tariffs, EV delivery numbers, 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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We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):

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University of Michigan cracks rapid EV charging in freezing temps

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University of Michigan cracks rapid EV charging in freezing temps

Charging your EV in freezing weather could soon become dramatically faster, thanks to a big breakthrough from the University of Michigan engineers.

Neil Dasgupta, U-M associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering and corresponding author of a study published in Joule, and his team have developed an innovative battery structure and coating that can boost lithium-ion EV battery charging speeds by a whopping 500%, even at frigid temperatures as low as 14F (-10C). “Charging an EV battery takes 30 to 40 minutes even for aggressive fast charging, and that time increases to over an hour in the winter,” Dasgupta explained. “This is the pain point we want to address.”

Freezing weather has traditionally been harsh on EV batteries because it slows down the movement of lithium ions, resulting in slower charging speeds and reduced battery life. Automakers have tried thickening battery electrodes to extend driving range, but this makes some of the lithium hard to access, making charging even slower.

Previously, Dasgupta’s group sped up battery charging using lasers to carve pathways around 40 microns in size into the graphite anode. This allowed lithium ions to reach deeper into the battery more quickly. However, cold-weather performance still lagged because a chemical layer formed on the electrodes, blocking the ions. Dasgupta compares this barrier to “trying to cut cold butter,” making charging inefficient.

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To solve this, the team coated the battery with a thin, glassy material made of lithium borate-carbonate—only 20 nanometers thick—which prevented the problematic chemical layer from forming. Combined with the microscopic channels, the results were groundbreaking: the modified batteries retained 97% of their capacity even after 100 fast-charging cycles in freezing temperatures.

“We envision this approach as something that EV battery manufacturers could adopt without major changes to existing factories,” Dasgupta noted. “For the first time, we’ve shown a pathway to simultaneously achieve extreme fast charging at low temperatures, without sacrificing the energy density of the lithium-ion battery.”

This innovation could tackle one of the biggest concerns holding potential EV buyers back.

The new battery tech is moving closer to commercialization, supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Advanced Transportation Innovation Hub. The research devices were built at U-M’s Battery Lab and studied with help from the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization.

U-M Innovation Partnerships assisted the team in applying for patents, and Arbor Battery Innovations has licensed the technology for market deployment. Dasgupta and the University of Michigan hold financial stakes in Arbor Battery Innovations.

Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles


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