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Tencent Auto "High Beam" Author Guo Yifei Editor Liu Peng

After experiencing a series of turmoil such as layoffs, factory shutdowns, and delisting crises,Pole StarEvery move of the automobile industry has attracted great attention from the market, especially in China, the world's largest new energy market.VolvoHow can pure electric luxury brands break through?

On August 16, at the opening ceremony of the Polestar Shanghai Experience Center, Polestar Technology Chairman Shen Ziyu told Tencent Auto's "High Beam" and other media that Polestar is not only the vanguard of Volvo's comprehensive new energy, but also theauspiciousThe group has laid out its bridgehead for globalization in advance. From the brand reshaping at the Guangzhou Auto Show last year to the present, Polestar has been restructuring and investing in the Chinese market. We hope to rely entirely on the local team, local product strategy and insights into user needs. Now, through the joint venture, we have supplemented our software capabilities, and our intelligence is already in the first echelon.

Shen Ziyu revealed that the Polestar 7 and Polestar 8 will first target the Chinese market, and the Chinese team will lead the product definition. At present, they have had very thorough discussions and research with the Geely Holding Group platform, including the Geely Research Institute, and strive to launch them in the Chinese market as quickly as possible within the next two years. "As for what kind of products, we cannot say yet."

In terms of automotive product architecture, Polestar 1, 2, and 3 use the SPA, CMA, and SPA2 architectures, respectively, all of which are dominated by Volvo.Polestar 4, then use theZeekr 001The same SEA vast architecture is Geely Holding Group’s self-developed car manufacturing platform.

Polestar Automotive's "old store opens a new door" to make up for the shortcomings of three electrics, etc.

Public information shows that Polestar was originally a Swedish car manufacturer, and was later acquired by Volvo. It is positioned as a high-performance electric car brand and is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. In June 2022, Polestar was listed on the Nasdaq in the United States through a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company). In February 2024, after Volvo allocated 62.7% of its approximately 48% stake in Polestar to Geely Holding, Geely Holding became the largest shareholder of Polestar at a transfer price of approximately 6.63 billion yuan.

Polestar's current sales are mainly in the United States and Europe, with the Chinese market accounting for less than 10%. Its global sales in 2023 will be 54,626 units. Data shows that Polestar is the top-selling Chinese-made brand exported to the United States, and ranked second in China's export to Europe in 2023. In 2024, its sales in 15 European countries ranked among the top five pure electric luxury brands.

In August 2024, Polestar announced that it would producePolestar 3, for export to the United States and Europe to avoid tariffs. In November last year, Polestar also signed a contract with Geely Holding Group to invest inRenaultThe South Korean automaker has reached an agreement to produce the Polestar 4 at its Busan plant for supply to overseas markets.

In the Chinese market, in June 2023, Polestar Automotive and Meizu, which is actually controlled by Li Shufu, established a joint venture "Polestar Technology", holding 49% and 51% of the shares respectively. This will serve as Polestar's only authorized sales and service channel in the Chinese market, and hopes to build the Polestar OS intelligent operating system.

In the core management team, in addition to Shen Ziyu, who serves as chairman and CEO, in June 2024, Qin Peiji, former general manager of Volvo Greater China Sales Company, was transferred to Polestar Technology COO, responsible for the company's sales, channel development and marketing business sectors. The opening of the Shanghai Experience Center is also Qin Peiji's first show at Polestar.

In Shen Ziyu's view, Polestar Auto's expansion into the Chinese market is a "new opening of an old store". Our advantages lie in original design, global standards and global markets, but we also need to make up for our shortcomings such as new energy platforms and the intelligentization of three-electric technologies.

Among them, the support from Geely's large system is crucial. Li Donghui, CEO of Geely Holding Group and director of Polestar, said at the opening ceremony, "As the 'big boss' of Polestar, we will unswervingly support Polestar's independent development in the world and China, provide Polestar with comprehensive operational, technical and financial support, participate in Polestar's financing plan in a timely manner, and the supply chain system will also be fully open."

In the field of intelligence, Polestar 4 is currently equipped with the Polestar OS intelligent cockpit system launched based on the Flyme Auto platform. The high-speed NPA plan is to cover more than 90% of prefecture-level cities by the third quarter of this year.

Market expansion also requires financial support. On August 13, Polestar Technology's headquarters was officially established in Zijinshan Science Park, Jiangning District, Nanjing. The office building integrates R&D center, operation center, procurement center, sales center, and delivery center, with a focus on the layout of intelligent R&D center.

Tianyancha data shows that in April, Polestar Technology added local state-owned assets controlled by the Nanjing Jiangning District Finance Bureau as a shareholder. Currently, Meizu, Polestar Automobile and Nanjing local state-owned assets hold 48.09%, 46.21% and 5.69% of the shares respectively.

High-end pure electric vehicles are not selling well, and Polestar’s top priority is to build sales confidence

At present, Polestar has launched a total of 4 models, including the hybrid GT coupe Polestar 1 (about 1.45 million yuan), the pure electric coupePolestar 2(299,800-358,800 yuan), pure electric SUV Polestar 3 (698,000-798,000 yuan) and 4 (299,900-399,900 yuan). Among them, Polestar 2 and 4 bear the heavy responsibility of sales, but the market feedback is average.

The financial report shows that in the first quarter of 2024, Polestar's global delivery volume was 7,200 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 40%. Polestar 2 and 4 delivered 5,000 and 1,200 vehicles respectively. It did not disclose its sales in the Chinese market. However, according to statistics from industry consulting agency Jellland, in the first six months of 2024, Polestar's sales in the Chinese market were only 1,619 vehicles.

The price war in China's new energy vehicle market is becoming increasingly fierce, and the growth rate of the pure electric market has slowed down. According to the data of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first seven months of 2024, although the sales volume of pure electric vehicles (3.57 million units) was higher than that of plug-in hybrid vehicles (including extended-range vehicles, 2.361 million units), the year-on-year growth rate was significantly lower, at 10.1% and 84.5% respectively.

Shen Ziyu has a clear understanding of this. He said that by the first quarter of 2024, the sales of luxury brands had collectively declined, ranging from 4% to 11% year-on-year, and pure electric models were almost 50% off. The profit of traditional luxury and new luxury brands declined significantly, and about one-third of luxury/imported car brand dealers were losing money. "The era of luxury brands making money without doing anything is over. Although we are facing the challenges of a slowdown in the pure electric market and price pressure, we will continue to invest in the development of new products. We have plans for Polestar 7 and Polestar 8."

Regarding sales forecast, Shen Ziyu said that he was aware of the pressure from investors and that he also needed to explain to the board of directors and shareholders. We have a clear understanding of the current situation of the Polestar brand in the Chinese market and the development opportunities. This will definitely take time and patience, including relying on Mr. Qin's experience. In the first half of the year, we invested a lot in brand and channels. "I told Mr. Qin that I would give you six months to answer the sales question."

According to previous plans, Polestar will aim to achieve a sales share of more than 30% to 40% in the Chinese market, and will challenge the top three global luxury electric car brands in China. To this end, in addition to truly launching localized products, brand promotion and channel expansion are also key.

Qin Peiji believes that the price war is ultimately due to the imbalance between supply and demand, which has remained the case for the past two years. "If fuel vehicles only have brands but no products, the brand power is not enough to support them to move forward. The new forces are the opposite. Success is based on the competitiveness of products. Without the competitiveness of the brand, few people will do well on both the brand and the product.

In his opinion, the Polestar brand is sufficient, and Polestar products including Polestar 4 rely on strong genes and capabilities. It is believed that the gap can be caught up quickly. Both the product and the brand must be done well, and the price may not be that important. The current priority is to build sales confidence. It is not only necessary to talk about brand and quality, but also spiritual appeals. Cultivating the confidence of sales staff and promoting their understanding of brand concepts are the tasks we will have to work hard to solve next.

In terms of channels, Polestar currently focuses on supermarkets and 4S stores. So far, it has built 50 brand spaces in China, covering 16 provinces and 25 prefecture-level cities.