Electric vehicle maker Polestar (PSNYW-US) said on Thursday (1st) that revenue nearly doubled in the first half of 2022 due to soaring demand, but it may be forced to raise selling prices further if material costs continue to rise.
“We still have very strong order books,” said Treasurer Johan Malmqvist. “As for inflation pressures, we have raised our selling prices and that’s something we’ve been watching closely to see if we need to take additional steps. action to protect our profits.”
The Swedish automaker, founded by China’s Geely and Volvo Cars, also reiterated its goal of delivering 50,000 electric vehicles (EVs) for the year.
Polestar, which was listed on Nasdaq in June through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), has expanded into new markets this year, but the expansion has led to rising costs, with a net loss of $502.7 million from January to June, a high A loss of $368.2 million a year ago.
Demand for electric vehicles has surged as countries meet net-zero carbon emissions targets and gasoline prices rise. Automakers have been scrambling to increase production amid supply chain bottlenecks and rising costs of parts and battery materials.
Many automakers are raising prices as consumer demand remains strong, but some worry that high inflation and economic uncertainty will dent sales sooner or later.
Polestar’s revenue for the first half ended June 30 was $1.04 billion, compared with $534.8 million a year earlier.
Polestar sold cars in 25 countries at the end of June, up from 19 a year ago.
The company took a non-cash charge of $372.3 million related to the Nasdaq listing.
Mamkwest said the company had a cash position of $1.4 billion in the first half.
In the first six months of this year, Polestar’s deliveries rose nearly 125 percent to about 21,200, up from 9,510 in the same period last year.
