Electric vehicle manufacturer Polestar received a total of US$1.6 billion in funding from its two main shareholders, Volvo Cars and PSD Investment.
The capital will be used by the Swedish manufacturer for financing in the near future, including the production of the Polestar 3 electric SUV which just made its debut on October 12 last.
Volvo Cars provided a loan of $800 million with a term of 18 months and stock conversion options. Meanwhile PSD Investment gave another $800 million. PSD Investment is owned by Eric Li, chairman of Volvo Cars and parent company Geely.
“We have around 70,000 cars on the road today, and are on track to reach our goal of delivering 50,000 cars to customers in 2022,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath. “We are making strong progress on our ambitious plans to launch three more cars by 2026.” he added.
Polestar currently requires quite a lot of money for the production of their electric vehicles. Production of the Polestar 2 is currently continuing, while the company is preparing production for the Polestar 3 electric SUV.
Production of the Polestar 3 is scheduled to begin production in Chengdu, China in mid-2023. Meanwhile, production of the Polestar 3 at the Ridgeville plant in the state of South Carolina, USA will take place in 2024.
With a base price of 89,900 euros, the Polestar 3 is also priced well above the Polestar 2. Most expensive version of the Polestar 3 electric SUV costs $100,770.
Volvo Cars’ stake in Polestar remains below 50 percent. In the current announcement, Volvo Cars states that it holds 48.3 percent of Polestar. Last year, that figure was tentatively as high as 49.5 percent.
“Polestar is our affiliated brand and an important business partner, as it plays a key role in our strategic direction to become fully electric by 2030 and shape the future of mobility,” said Johan Ekdahl, chief financial officer at Volvo Cars. “The financial support we provide together with other major Polestar owners will ensure Polestar remains steadfast in realizing its ambition as a performance EV car brand.”
