Polestar is slashing starting prices for its next model as demand for electric cars fluctuates

Swedish electric car maker Polestar Automotive Holding on Wednesday cut the base price of its Polestar 3 model by more than 12% and launched new variants to address weak demand.

Weak demand in the global electric car market has led to a series of job cuts and missed production targets, forcing electric car makers to cut prices to revive demand.

Polestar lowered the starting price of the Polestar 3 from the original $83,900 to $73,400. The company added two new variants, expanding the offering to four variants.

All Polestar 3 variants will be standard with the “Pilot Pack”, the company’s driver assistance system, in the US, the company said.

Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2024. While the Polestar 3 model was launched in October 2022, the company aimed to start deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The company has struggled with weak demand for its vehicles as deliveries in 2023 fell short of a January target as higher-priced models struggled to meet demand.

Separately, Wells Fargo lowered its rating on Tesla shares amid concerns about the diminishing impact of the company’s price cuts on demand for its electric vehicles. (Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)