Stock market day: Conflict between the EU and China: electric car maker Polestar is heading to the US

Stock market day
Conflict between the EU and China: electric car maker Polestar is heading to the US

April 24, 2024, 4:31 am

In light of growing geopolitical tensions, electric car maker Polestar wants to build more cars outside of China. The Swedish company, which belongs to the Chinese Geely Group, is preparing to increase production in the United States and sell cars from there to the European Union, said Polestar boss Thomas Ingenlath before the auto show in Beijing. The European Union Commission is currently investigating punitive tariffs on cars from China. This makes Polestar’s calculations more difficult, says Ingenlath. The company is preparing accordingly. “We are accelerating our plans to position ourselves globally.”

The automaker’s electric vehicles are currently being built in the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Taizhou. Polestar also has a factory in South Carolina, where cars have been rolling off the assembly line since this year, and plans to build another production facility in South Korea.

Polestar is currently facing weak demand for electric vehicles. In the first quarter alone, the company sold two-fifths less cars than a year ago. In February, Volvo Cars cut the company’s cash and transferred its shares to parent company Geely.