Volvo, an early electric car adopter, cuts off funding for its EV affiliate — Move follows other retrenchments by big automaker
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Volvo Car said it won’t provide further funding to Polestar, the electric-car maker it created with Volvo’s Chinese owner Geely—the latest EV retrenchment by the global auto industry.
The auto industry’s pivot to electric vehicles has been rocked by setbacks this year, just as a flood of new battery-powered models is hitting showrooms.
Earlier this week, French automaker Renault said it has decided to cancel the initial public offering of its electric-car unit Ampere. Ford, meanwhile, has slashed production of its electric F-150 Lightning, a pickup truck that has generated major buzz since its launch. Rental-car firm Hertz has said it was dumping about one-third of its EV rental car fleet, replacing the cars with gas-engine vehicles.
Also earlier this week, Tesla—the world’s most valuable automaker—warned of notably lower growth this year. Data earlier this year has shown a slowdown in EV sales growth in the U.S., automakers delaying or cutting back on plans and anxiety rising among dealership owners.
In a sign of investor unease about automakers’ march toward an EV future, Volvo shares surged more than 20% Thursday on its decision to cut off funding to Polestar.
Volvo and Geely founded Polestar as a stand-alone EV maker, separate from Volvo’s substantial in-house effort to go electric. Through a special-purpose acquisition company merger, the two listed it on Nasdaq in 2022. Polestar shares have fallen 83% since then.
Analysts have highlighted how Volvo’s 48% stake in Polestar has been a drag on its resources, with the company struggling with losses amid the slow consumer uptake of electric vehicles and the increasingly competitive market, tapping Volvo for around $1 billion in financing while the company works through a turnaround plan.
