Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath is stepping down amid flagging gross sales

Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath is resigning from his place and might be changed by Michael Lohscheller, who beforehand served as CEO of Stellantis-owned carmaker Opel, the automaker introduced Tuesday.

The transfer comes as Polestar has struggled to maintain its funds up amid a wider slowdown in EV gross sales progress. It has gone by means of a number of rounds of layoffs and not too long ago noticed Volvo drastically cut back its stake within the firm. Polestar is anticipated to report its second quarter earnings on August twenty ninth. The corporate’s inventory is at the moment promoting for lower than $1.

Ingenlath has been on the helm since Polestar’s inception in 2017. He oversaw the discharge of Polestar’s first two fashions: the $150,000 hybrid Polestar 1 sports activities coupe and the extra mainstream $60,000 Polestar 2 fastback sedan. The Polestar 3, which is an SUV, was launched this 12 months and is the corporate’s first mannequin to be produced within the US.

However Tesla’s value cuts, growing competitors from European automakers, and recurring complications round charging have led to a softening in EV demand. Polestar stated it misplaced $231 million within the first quarter of 2024, up from $219 million over the identical interval the earlier 12 months.

Polestar’s ties to China — like Volvo, it’s owned by Chinese language automaker Geely — are additionally trying more and more fraught, because the US, EU, and Canada think about new tariffs on EVs imported from the nation. Geely is now the corporate’s primary monetary backer, and Polestar’s manufacturing facility is positioned in Chengdu, China.

“I’m very pleased with what we’ve achieved collectively within the final seven years,” Ingenlath stated in an announcement. “We had the imaginative and prescient of an electrical premium model which places efficiency and design at its core. And we made it, the dream turned actuality.”

Previous to becoming a member of Polestar, Ingenlath’s expertise was largely in design. He served as chief exterior designer for Volkswagen earlier than being appointed chief designer at Škoda in 2000. In 2006, he was promoted to director of design on the Volkswagen Design Middle in Potsdam.

“To a sure diploma, it’s important to take that threat of projecting what will occur sooner or later,” he stated. “The place is client style going? I needed to study as a designer to be very a lot by myself — with no matter information you attempt to show it with.”

Lohscheller’s appointment marks a shift in focus for Polestar — maybe away from the minimalist designs that marked Ingenlath’s tenure. Along with Opel, he has additionally served as chief government of VinFast, the buzzy Vietnamese EV firm, and Nikola, which is producing hydrogen-powered semi vans.

“Polestar has skilled an distinctive start-up part and with a broader mannequin line-up, Michael Lohscheller is the best chief to information Polestar into its subsequent chapter,” Winfried Vahland, Polestar’s incoming chairman, stated in an announcement. Vahland, who was appointed to Polestar’s board in June, involves Polestar after serving as chair and CEO of Škoda.