Tag Archives: Sales results

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Polestar Posts Big Sales Gains—but Big Losses Too—as It Races Through a Turbulent 2025

Polestar’s third-quarter and year-to-date numbers are in, and the Swedish-Chinese EV brand finds itself in a familiar position: growing fast, bleeding cash even faster, and trying to convince the world it’s built for the long haul.

CEO Michael Lohscheller framed Q3 as a step forward in the company’s ongoing “commercial transformation,” pointing to a rapidly expanding dealer network and fresh retail spaces popping up across Polestar’s 28 global markets. Those efforts helped drive a 49-percent revenue jump in the first nine months of 2025, a rare bright spot in what continues to be a bruising year for the EV sector.

But as is often the case in the electric-car gold rush, revenue growth is only part of the story.

Sales Up, Prices Pressured, Margins… Ouch

For January through September, Polestar estimates it delivered 44,482 vehicles, a 36.5-percent YoY increase thanks to a stronger lineup and especially robust demand in Europe. The lion’s share of that growth comes from the company’s newer, higher-priced metal—the Polestar 3 SUV and the sleek Polestar 4 coupe-SUV.

Those pricier models helped push revenue to $2.171 billion, nearly 50 percent higher than last year. The company also leaned heavily on carbon-credit deals, booking $123 million in the first nine months alone (up from essentially zero a year earlier).

But margins tell a less rosy story. Polestar reported a negative gross margin of –34.5 percent, a result heavily distorted by a massive $739 million non-cash impairment charge on the Polestar 3 taken in Q2. Strip out that hit and adjusted gross margin still sits at –1.8 percent, slightly better than last year but still on the wrong side of zero.

Pricing pressure, rising tariffs, and residual-value guarantees in North America all conspired to drag margins underwater, and inventory write-downs didn’t help.

Quarterly Snapshot: Q3 2025

Polestar moved 14,192 vehicles in Q3, up 13.1 percent YoY, once again buoyed by Europe. Revenue climbed to $748 million, up 36 percent, with carbon-credit sales adding $33 million to the pot.

But the margin picture deteriorated again: gross margin fell to –6.1 percent (from –1.2 percent last year), and adjusted gross margin to –7.9 percent. A combination of tariffs, mix shifts, and residual-value adjustments kept the bottom line firmly in the red.

Net loss for the quarter widened slightly to $365 million, and adjusted EBITDA clocked in at –$259 million, down from –$176 million a year earlier despite ongoing cuts to marketing and headcount.

Still, Polestar entered Q4 with $995 million in cash, boosted by a $200 million PIPE investment from Geely chairman Eric Li’s investment arm and more than $3.2 billion in renewed and secured financing facilities.

A Dealer Network That’s Actually Growing

While many EV startups are shrinking their retail footprint, Polestar is sprinting in the opposite direction. The company added 11 new retail partners in Q3, bringing its global total outside of China to 141 active partners. Its hybrid agency/dealer model—once a philosophical war zone in Europe—seems to have found its legs.

Polestar also continues to lean on the global service network of Volvo Cars, giving it far wider aftersales reach than most young EV brands could dream of.

Product and Brand Highlights: The Stuff Enthusiasts Actually Care About

The financials may be grim, but on the product front Polestar is working hard to maintain momentum:

  • Polestar 5, the sleek electric grand tourer, made its public debut at IAA Mobility in Munich.
  • The Polestar 4 snagged a Red Dot “Best of the Best” design award and will become the first car to integrate Google Maps’ live lane guidance.
  • The Polestar 3 not only set a Guinness World Record for the longest journey by an electric SUV on a single charge, but also received a major 800-volt upgrade and 350-kW peak DC charging capability for the 2026 model year.
  • The first-ever Polestar Festival in the UK celebrated 45,000 Polestars on British roads.
  • The company also announced a reduction in R&D staff, part of a strategic shift toward using more existing Geely Group architectures to save development costs.

This mix of halo moments and pragmatic belt-tightening is increasingly becoming Polestar’s brand identity: equal parts moonshot and money-saving maneuver.

A Reverse Stock Split on the Horizon

In typical EV-startup fashion, Polestar’s financial restructuring continues. The company plans to execute a reverse stock split, adjusting the ratio of its ADS shares to its ordinary shares (currently 1:1). Details are expected soon, though the move is clearly aimed at stabilizing the stock and meeting exchange-listing requirements.

The Big Picture

Polestar remains one of the more credible EV-only startups in an era where credibility is hard to come by. Backing from Geely gives it scale advantages few new brands can match, and its products remain some of the sharpest, most design-forward EVs on the road.

But the company is still losing money at a rate that would make a Silicon Valley CFO wince. Impairments, tariffs, pricing challenges, and residual-value risks continue to weigh heavily on the books.

Still, the growth is real. The cars are real. And unlike several EV hopefuls that flamed out in 2024 and 2025, Polestar appears determined not just to survive—but to evolve.

2026 will tell us whether this is the turning point the company keeps promising, or just another lap in a very long race.

Source: Polestar

News

BMW’s Electric Charge Is Gaining Momentum — But the 50% Goal Is Still a Mountain to Climb

Back in 2020, BMW’s electric future looked more like a glimmer than a revolution. Only 1.9 percent of the Bavarian automaker’s total deliveries were battery-electric vehicles — a rounding error in the grand scheme of things. Fast-forward to 2024, and that number has surged to 17.4 percent, a nearly tenfold leap in just four years.

And the story’s not done yet.

From January through September 2025, 18 percent of all BMW Group cars sold wore no exhaust pipe at all. That figure includes not only BMW-branded vehicles but also MINI and Rolls-Royce, both of which have been ramping up their own electric ambitions. In total, the trio moved 323,437 fully electric vehicles during the first nine months of the year — a 10 percent jump over 2024’s pace.

BMW’s plug-in hybrids are also quietly pulling their weight. Sales of PHEVs climbed 27.6 percent year-over-year, reaching 146,850 units, or 8.2 percent of total deliveries. Put the two together — EVs and plug-in hybrids — and electrified vehicles now represent 26.2 percent of BMW Group’s global volume. That’s 470,287 cars, an impressive slice for a company that still builds some of the world’s finest inline-sixes and V8s.

The Calm Before the Neue Klasse Storm

Perhaps the most striking part of BMW’s current trajectory is that this growth has come before the real wave of next-generation EVs hits showrooms. The new iX3, the first to properly bridge the gap between BMW’s current-gen electric offerings and its all-new Neue Klasse platform, hasn’t even debuted yet.

Once that happens — and especially when the Neue Klasse sedan and SUV arrive in 2026 — BMW’s electric momentum could kick into overdrive. On the horizon: the i3 sedan, iX4, iX5, and a mid-cycle update for the i7, all slated for launch next year. Prototypes of the next-gen iX1 are already running public-road tests with their full Neue Klasse underpinnings.

BMW’s roadmap for the late 2020s reads like an EV buffet. Expect to see an iX7 flagship SUV, a Touring version of the i3, and even an entry-level model wearing an i1 or i2 badge. A sleek i4 Coupe could also join the lineup, while markets like China are getting long-wheelbase exclusives such as the iX3 LWB and i3 LWB.

The 50% Challenge

For all this progress, BMW’s ultimate goal remains ambitious: more than half of all annual sales to be fully electric by 2030. That’s not impossible, but it’s a tall order. Even with 18 percent of sales already electric, doubling that share within five years will take more than new product — it’ll require strong demand, robust charging infrastructure, and continued affordability in key markets.

BMW, for its part, isn’t exactly underfunded in this transition. The company has poured over €10 billion into Neue Klasse development, a figure CEO Oliver Zipse calls the largest single investment in BMW’s history. With that much cash on the table — and a new generation of EVs set to deliver sharper design, better efficiency, and tech-rich interiors — the brand is clearly betting the house on electric.

Steady, Strategic, and Bavarian

While rivals like Tesla, Mercedes, and Audi have gone full-throttle into electrification, BMW’s approach has been more measured — methodical, even. But if history tells us anything, it’s that BMW tends to play the long game.

The numbers are climbing, the lineup is expanding, and the Neue Klasse era is almost here. The road to 50 percent might be steep, but Bavaria’s EV train has definitely left the station.

Source: BMW

News

Nissan’s Balancing Act: Bruised, But Back on Its Feet

If the auto industry were a boxing match, Nissan’s first half of fiscal 2025 would be that brutal middle round where the fighter’s on the ropes — gloves up, bruised, but still in the fight. The Yokohama heavyweight just reported a 27.7-billion-yen operating loss on revenues of 5.6 trillion yen. It’s not pretty, but there’s fight in this one yet.

The Numbers: Blood, Sweat, and Yen

Between April and September 2025, Nissan shifted 1.48 million cars globally. That’s a lot of metal, but not enough to keep the balance sheet in the black. Compared to last year, revenue slipped by 405 billion yen, and the operating margin swung from a modest +0.5% to a worrying -0.5%.

Blame part of that on tariffs, foreign exchange turbulence (JPY 146/USD, JPY 168/EUR), and some painful accounting for its Chinese joint venture. The net result? A thumping 221.9-billion-yen loss, largely thanks to impairments and restructuring costs.

Still, the financial scaffolding’s holding up — 3.6 trillion yen in liquidity and a beefy 2.2 trillion in cash give Nissan breathing room. Think of it as a solid roll cage after a high-speed spin.

A Tale of Two Quarters

Look closer, and there’s a flicker of good news. The second quarter actually delivered an operating profit — 51.5 billion yen — an improvement of nearly 20 billion year-on-year. That’s no small feat in today’s brutal automotive landscape, where semiconductor prices, logistics, and tariffs bite harder than a GT-R launch control.

Net income was still negative, but directionally, it’s progress — a sign the Re:Nissan turnaround plan might be starting to grip.

Re:Nissan: The Makeover in Motion

Nissan’s comeback strategy, poetically titled Re:Nissan, is now moving into second gear. The company claims it’s already achieved over 80 billion yen in fixed-cost reductions and aims to exceed 150 billion by year’s end.

That’s not all. The brand’s aiming for a 20% improvement in engineering efficiency — already 12% there — and slashing parts complexity across its lineup. Less overlap, more precision. It’s the corporate equivalent of a weight-reduction program before track day.

And then there’s the bold real estate move: Nissan’s selling its global HQ in Yokohama, only to lease it back for 20 years. It sounds dramatic, but the cash infusion will fund modernization and, frankly, it shows a company serious about leaner, meaner operations.

Eyes on 2026

The goal? Breakeven operating profit excluding U.S. tariff impacts this year, and a clean return to the black by fiscal 2026. With 200 billion yen in identified variable-cost savings and a fresh pipeline of models, the outlook’s more promising than the current P&L might suggest.

Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s CEO, put it plainly: “We face challenges, but we are firmly on the path to recovery.” And with momentum building behind new-gen cars like the LEAF and Roox — and more EVs, hybrids, and possibly some spicy N-badged specials in the pipeline — the optimism might just be justified.

Nissan’s story right now isn’t about victory laps — it’s about endurance. The bruises are real, but so is the resolve. Under the Re:Nissan plan, the company’s doing what TopGear loves best: tearing something down and rebuilding it stronger, lighter, and faster.

The road to 2026 won’t be smooth. But if Nissan can stay the course — cutting fat, launching fresh metal, and proving that Japanese engineering still knows how to thrill — then this could be the comeback drive of the decade.

Source: Nissan