Polestar Automotive Holding UK Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
September 3, 2025

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Retail sales grew 51% to over 30,000 cars, driving a 56% increase in H1 2025 revenue to $1.4 billion.
  • Negative Sentiment: A $739 million impairment charge on Polestar 3 assets due to higher U.S. tariffs and mounting pricing pressure pushed the overall gross margin down to –49%, despite an adjusted gross margin of 1.4%.
  • Positive Sentiment: Cost discipline initiatives delivered an 8% reduction in average product costs and a 10% cut in battery costs, narrowing the adjusted EBITDA loss by 30% to $302 million.
  • Positive Sentiment: Polestar’s active selling model expanded its non-China dealer network by 40% to 169 sales points and added 26 new retail partners, fueling strong volume growth.
  • Negative Sentiment: With $719 million in cash, a $140 million average monthly cash burn, and covenant amendments on $5.5 billion in debt, Polestar faces ongoing funding pressure despite new equity and $2.1 billion in credit facilities.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Polestar Automotive Holding UK Q2 2025
00:00 / 00:00

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Operator

Okay, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Polestar first half 2025 results conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during this session, you will need to press *1 1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press *1 1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Anna Gavrilova, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Anna Gavrilova
Anna Gavrilova
Head - IR at Polestar

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone. I'm Anna Gavrilova, Head of Investor Relations at Polestar. Thank you for joining this call covering Polestar's results for the first half of 2025. I'm joined by Michael Lohscheller, Polestar CEO, and Jean-François Mady, Polestar CFO, who will comment on the performance, and then we will open the floor to analysts' questions. Before we start, I would like to remind participants that many of our comments today will be considered forward-looking statements under the U.S. Federal Securities Laws and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause Polestar's actual results to differ materially from what has been communicated. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the future financial performance of the company, production and delivery volumes, financial and operating results, near-term outlook and medium-term targets, fundraising and funding requirements, macroeconomic and industry trends, company initiatives, and other future events.

Anna Gavrilova
Anna Gavrilova
Head - IR at Polestar

Forward-looking statements made today are effective only as of today, and Polestar undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements. For a discussion of some of the factors that could cause our actual results to differ, please review the risk factors contained in our SEC filings. In addition, management may make references to non-GAAP financial measures during the call. A discussion of why we use non-GAAP financial measures and the reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure can be found in the appendix of the press release and in the Form 6-K published today. Now, I will hand over to Michael.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. It's one year since the announcement of my appointment as CEO of Polestar, and I'd like to spend a few moments reflecting both on my first 12 months here, as well as our commercial and operational performance during the first six months of 2025. There were two main things that attracted me to Polestar that have become even more important and clearer during the last 12 months. First off, Polestar's strong brand with clear focus on design, performance, and sustainability. The proof points for that are our unique and credible cars. Secondly, Polestar's unwillingness to compromise is something that I see manifested almost every single day, and as the world continues to throw more challenges towards us, it will remain. First and foremost, we are invested in the future, not in the past.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

We are convinced that the future of mobility is emission-free. It is not hybrid technology or ICE. It is electric. That's why Polestar was founded and what we will continue with. Regulators and policymakers across the world spent years creating a framework for this transition, and now is not the time to backtrack simply because some legacy OEMs haven't been fast enough in their technology development or cost competitiveness. Customers want electrification. They want emission-free mobility. Demand is increasing across major markets, and our sales figures underline this. As Europe's first and only pure EV startup, we continue to follow our mission, making the best performance EVs. We are very proud of our cars, which get great feedback and reviews from customers and industry experts.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Polestar 4 recently won the prestigious Red Dot Best of the Best award, the Mille Miglia Rally in Italy, as well as achieving a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, just like Polestar 2 and Polestar 3. Like its siblings, Polestar 4 benefits from regular over-the-air updates, improving the car, and adding new features on a regular basis. Polestar 3 recently set a Guinness World Record, traveling 935 kilometers on one charge around Southeast England, reaffirming our view that there is no reason for range anxiety. Polestar Charge now offers access to over 1 million charge points across Europe, making owning and driving a Polestar even easier. The next big thing is Polestar 5. This car is our brand shaper. It showcases what Polestar is all about, and we are very excited about the launch on September 8th at IIA in Munich.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

I can tell you that we have completed the first VIP media test drives in the past weeks. The reactions of the journalists speak for themselves. With this car, we can compete with legacy performance brands. Let me tell you, this car is amazing. A four-seat grand tourer with amazing power, precise handling, and sustainable materials. For those of you coming to IIA, make sure to visit our booth so you can experience this incredible car for yourself. Looking slightly further ahead, we have recently announced that our next model, Polestar 7, will be manufactured in Kosice, Slovakia, together with our manufacturing and development partner, Volvo Cars. More to come about this in the future, but for now, this is a very important milestone for us, being able to manufacture a car in Europe.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

This compact SUV targets the fastest growing segment in our industry and is expected to launch in 2028. Looking back at the last few months, I am pleased with the operational improvements and developments that our team has delivered in a very challenging market. In light of these conditions, we have identified further actions to accelerate our strategic journey, finding additional efficiencies and improvement. The ambitions set out in the strategic plan announced in January are reliant on three main components: increasing our sales through a transformation of our commercial operations, enhancing our operating efficiency and cost discipline, and improving our cash position. Our active selling model is now implemented with existing and new partners across all major markets.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Compared to the end of Q2 last year, we have grown our number of sales points, excluding China, by 40% to 169, and this number will continue to grow during the coming months into the next year. We still offer our cars online, which some customers prefer, but our growth ambitions would not be attainable without growing our network of dealers. In summary, despite the well-known geopolitical and market challenges, our financial results for the first half of the year show that we are on the right track and doing the right things. We grew our retail sales by 51%. Our revenue is up 56% to $1.4 billion. Our adjusted gross margin, excluding the announced impairment, is positive and has improved year over year. Our CO2 sales for 2025 are up and expected to be in line with our announced target.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Thanks to commercial initiatives and lower material costs, including for batteries, we are seeing a reduction in production cost. Marketing spend has been optimized in line with planned activities, and workforce and organizational structure changes are being made. There is still a lot to do, but we are successfully implementing our plan and doing the right things. With that, I'll end my opening remarks and hand over to Jean-François.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Thank you, Michael. Good morning, good afternoon, everyone. Financial results for the first six months of 2025 reflect strong commercial performance as we continue the transition to the active selling model at pace. However, significant external headwinds, notably tariffs and mounting pricing pressure, impacted profitability, particularly in the second quarter. Looking at the financial results for the first half of 2025, retail sale volume, as pre-announced, grew by 51% to over 30,000 cars, ahead of our growth target of 30% to 35% for 2025 to 2027. Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 made up well over 50% of the volume. In the second half of the year, the comparison will be tougher, as first, sales in Q1 2024 were low. Second, sales increased during H2 2024 compared to H1 2024. Third, we face a very different industry environment compared to a year ago.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Having said that, we expect to continue to grow year on year in line with our set growth targets. By geography, we saw particularly strong performances in Europe with the UK, Germany, Belgium, and the Nordic region, and in APAC with South Korea. However, the situation in the U.S. is challenging due to tariffs and policy changes, and this market represents about 9% of our retail sales. We operate in 28 countries worldwide, and Europe is now our main regional market. We're present in 17 countries, and I'm pleased to say that it is doing well, especially in terms of commercial footprint, as mentioned by Michael. Polestar signed up 26 new retail partners, of which 20 in Europe, compared to just 10 partners for the whole of 2024.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

As part of our commercial geographic development in Europe, we launched in France in the first week of June with all three models available for purchase. In this context, our revenue grew by 56% to $1.4 billion in H1, driven by higher sale volume and a growing share of higher-priced Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 models. Carbon credit sales amounted to $90 million from almost no sales a year earlier under the new EU pooling agreement and sales in the U.S. Of $90 million, $72 million is booked in revenue, and $80 million is booked in over-operating income. Committed carbon credit sales are reasonably derisked for the second half of the year, and clearly, we are on track to achieve a three-digit $100 million amount in 2025, as we guided in January.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Gross margin was negative at 49% in the first half of the year due to an impairment expense of $739 million for Polestar 3 assets booked in the second quarter. The key factors driving the impairment are an increase in production costs resulting from new tariffs on parts for cars to be assembled in the U.S. and mounting pressure on pricing. These factors significantly impact current and forecast volume and profitability of Polestar 3. Overall, the adjusted gross margin, which excludes the impairment expense, improved to a positive 1.4% in the first six months from a negative 2.6% a year ago. Despite higher tariffs year on year, a growing share of Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 in the geographical sale mix contributes to gross margin improvements. In addition, continuous product cost reduction delivered through commercial initiatives and a lower cost of materials and batteries contribute to offset partially external headwinds.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

The carbon credit sales contributed positively to Polestar profitability. Selling, general, and administrative expenses, excluding the sales agency remuneration, decreased by $49 million year on year, that is to say by 12%, reflecting mainly optimized marketing and advertising costs and a reduction in administrative costs resulting from cost discipline and organizational restructuring with reduced headcount. Research and development costs were higher by $7 million year on year due to a lower capitalization rate in the period. For the first six months of 2025, net loss results primarily reflect the impairment expense. Adjusted EBITDA loss of $302 million narrowed by 30%, reflecting the improvement at the top line and adjusted gross margin, as well as separating efficiencies and cost discipline and higher over-operating income, including positive FX impact.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

If we look at the result of the second quarter, the quarter-on-quarter development merits explanation when looking at the revenue and the adjusted gross margin. Retail sales grew by 47% compared to the first quarter. Revenue increased 25%, driven mainly by higher volume, partially offset by mounting pressure on pricing and a different sale mix. The sale mix compared to the first quarter was affected by two factors. First, more Polestar 2 cars were sold reflecting demand, and second, the channel mix with more internal sales vehicles to promote Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 and to support the expansion of our retail network. Sales of carbon credit were $41 million in the second quarter and $31 million in the first one. Gross margin included the impairment expense. Adjusted gross margin was a negative 5.7%, lower by 16 points quarter on quarter. First, we faced an intensifying competitive pricing environment.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Second, we sold more Polestar 2 cars due to demand. Third, the cost of sales increased due to tariffs. Finally, there was a negative adjustment to inventory net realizable value. Net loss in the second quarter is primarily a result of the impairment expense. Adjusted EBITDA loss of $216 million increased compared to the result in the first quarter, mainly due to the negative evolution of the adjusted gross margin. Entering the second half of the year, we are focusing on the following measures: rebalancing the products and channel mix, leveraging, for example, the launch of Polestar 4 in North America, targeting further cost reduction, especially in product cost, and capitalizing on further sales of carbon credits. On the funding of our operation and liquidity, we are pleased to have raised $200 million of new equity from PSD Investments, an existing investor and an entity that is controlled by Mr. Li Shufu, founder and chairman of JD Holding Group. In terms of loan facilities, we succeeded in securing about $1 billion worth of new 12-month stamp facilities and renewed about $1.1 billion of existing 12-month stamp facilities. These facilities allow for efficient funding of Polestar operating and investing activities. Our cash position at the end of June was $719 million. We continuously engage in a constant dialogue with our club lenders. Following ongoing discussion, Polestar agreed to amend its covenant with club loan facility banks and quarterly and annual testing for the remainder of 2025. Regarding its debt level, Polestar remained compliant with its loan covenant. I will finally touch upon the cash burn rate for the first six months of 2025.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

We have made good progress on unwinding the new inventory from last year, from 23,000 units to now 14,000 units, which had a positive impact on the working capital. However, the increase in receivables at the end of June due to high retail sale volume, combined with a high level of payment to our related parties, distorted our normalized cash burn management performance. We will continue in the second half of the year to enhance our working capital management, still focusing on optimizing the inventory level and our CapEx spending while expecting an increase in cash use for investing activities during the second half of the year due to Polestar 5, the model years, and our manufacturing activity in Busan, South Korea. To conclude, our priorities remain first, driving growth through the active selling model and leveraging our attractive model lineup.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Second, improving processes, streamlining the organization and operation, looking for further synergies. Third, extracting efficiencies and cutting costs, and last but not least, protecting the cash and securing new equity funding. We are making progress, and Polestar is energetically transforming. It is fair to recognize that the external environment is very different since Michael and I started with Polestar. We will continue to focus on what is under our control and protect the company in the face of external headwinds. In terms of guidance, we will not be issuing any financial guidance at this time other than reiterating the target compound annual retail sale volume growth of 30% to 35% over 2025 and 2027. Now, I will hand over back to the operator.

Operator

Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press *1 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press *1 1 again. We will take our first question, and the first question comes from the line of Winnie Dong from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Winnie Dong
Winnie Dong
Director - Equity Research at Deutsche Bank

Hi. Thanks so much for taking my question. I was wondering if you can maybe comment on the demand environment quarter to date. You achieved some really good growth in Q2. I'm curious on your commentary in terms of how that extends into Q3 and the rest of the year. Secondly, I was wondering if you can help us bridge from Q1 adjusted gross margin to the Q2 figure. What were some of the factors that drove the margin decline? If you could break down what each component were possible. Thank you.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Thank you, Winnie. This is Michael here. Let me take the first question on the demand and give you some color, and then I'm sure Jean-François will give you some further color on the margin development. What did we see in terms of demand? Obviously, overall, BEV markets are still growing, right, despite what everybody is saying, right? The growth is obviously not as we expected a couple of years ago. We see in all key markets growth of the BEV markets, especially here in Europe, which obviously is good news for us. However, we do see shifts in segments, right? There is clearly a trend to lower-priced BEVs, in particular, European markets. Overall, I think there is demand. Demand is developing in a positive way. Of course, it varies. Like the U.S., we see a lot of uncertainty, right?

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

You guys all have seen that the tax credits are going away. Obviously, there is uncertainty. It's hard to predict. Overall, I think it's important to remind ourselves we still see growing BEV markets across Europe, and I think that's positive for us. With that, maybe Jean-François, you take the second one.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Yes. Thanks, Michael. Hello, Winnie. Just to give you some color regarding the evolution of the gross margin between Q2 and Q1. In Q2, despite the increase of volume, what we can see is, I would say, a negative car line sale mix with more demand on the Polestar 2, detrimental, I would say, to the mix of Polestar 4 and Polestar 3. We can see also that in terms of channel mix, we had more internal sales in order to further promote Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 in phase with the development of our retail network in order, I would say, to support those cars in a more competitive environment. As well, as part of this competitive environment, what we can see, this is a mounting pressure on the prices.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Also, looking at our cost of goods sold, we have been fully impacted by the concern increase of tariffs, including partially the new increase that we have seen during Q2 on the import of parts and components. When we consolidate all those factors, pricing, and increase of cost of goods sold, we had also to reconsider an assessment of the net realizable value of our inventory, which caused a negative impact. Having said that, I would like to mention that we had also positive impacts related to the CO2 credit sale, but also the continuing decrease of the cost of our product. I think that we did significant improvements since the last six to eight months.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Looking at H2 and entering H2, while still wanting to comply with our volume guidance of 30% to 35% volume increase over 25% to 27%, it is fair as well to comment that we want to still monitor all the actions which are under our control, that is to say the sale mix, but also the channel mix, but still continuing as well on the cost reduction.

Winnie Dong
Winnie Dong
Director - Equity Research at Deutsche Bank

Thank you so much. I'll pass along. Thanks.

Operator

Thank you. We will take our next question. Your next question comes from the line of Tobias Beith from Rothschild & Co. Redburn. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Tobias Beith
Research Analyst at Redburn Atlantic

Hi. Good morning, both. Thanks for taking my question. I hope you're well. I have two, please. I'll ask them separately if that's great. If they're present today, I was wondering whether you could quantify how large potential reimbursements are to your contract manufacturing partners for lower-than-expected volumes today and over the next few years versus when these nameplates and presumably the supply contracts were conceived?

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

I can take that, Tobias, and hope you're doing well. As you know, we have an asset-light business model, right? We have the support from Geely and Volvo also in terms of where we produce our cars, right? Of course, there we have long-term agreements. There are changes, as the industry is changing. We don't give you a figure here today as you might have expected, but I can tell you that we have long-term agreements with our partners, work through any possible changes. Needless to say, you have seen it in our figures expected. That's what I can say on that side.

Tobias Beith
Research Analyst at Redburn Atlantic

All right. Thanks for trying to help. Second question, how does Polestar intend to establish brand independence from Geely and Volvo Cars over the next couple of years, given the overlap which will still exist between the respective product portfolios and the requirement for Polestar to establish a premier with similar products to generate its own profits?

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Yeah. Also, great question, Tobias. Let me take that, Michael, again. First of all, I think it's fair to say that Polestar really has established a strong brand, right? Absolutely being perceived as a Swedish-Scandinavian brand. While on the one hand, we utilize, for example, the service network of Volvo, of the Volvo dealer network, which is very, very important because customers immediately ask, like, "Where can we do the service?" We have separate showrooms, right? Most of our retailers, and we have seen a strong growth of retailers, are also Volvo retailers, but we have separate showrooms. I think the brands differentiate extremely well. Polestar clearly stands for design, but also performance and sustainability. We have seen very little overlap between Volvo and Polestar. It's actually incremental business for most of our dealers, right? That's why they appreciate that.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

That's why we can also grow the number of retailers very fast. You have seen that we are now having a retail number of 169. We grow every month five to six retailers around the world. That's what we do. With that, we can also make sure that we develop Polestar more and more to a premium brand, right? This takes time. This doesn't come overnight, but I think we do the right things, price accordingly, and also have very different marketing activities. Obviously also products like the Polestar 5, which we will introduce next week at the IIA in Munich. Some of you might have seen pictures. That is obviously a very, very strong asset to build this premium of the Polestar brand because very few brands have a car like that, let me tell you that, right?

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

I hope that that gives you a little bit of color how we want to differentiate on the one hand while using the synergies of the Volvo service network and dealer network in particular and how we want to develop the Polestar brand as a premium brand further.

Tobias Beith
Research Analyst at Redburn Atlantic

Very helpful. Thank you, Michael. I'll hand over the line.

Operator

Thank you. We will take our next question. Your next question comes from the line of Andres Sheppard from Cantor Fitzgerald. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Andres Sheppard
MD & Senior Equity Analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald

Hey, everyone. Good morning. Good afternoon. Thank you for taking our questions. Jean-François, I'm wondering if I know you touched this on the call, but can you just remind us the company's total liquidity, maybe cash burn expectations for the second half, and how are you thinking about capital needs, capital runway? Thank you.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Thanks, Andres. First, I just would like to step back regarding the liquidity situation of Polestar to mention that we have a constructive and positive dialogue with the lenders participating to our pool. Just to demonstrate it, as mentioned previously, we have secured a renewed plus $2.1 billion USD over the first eight months of 2025. At the same time, in full agreement with our lenders, we have also renegotiated some of our covenants. At the end of June, in terms of cash, we are at $719 million USD. Looking at our debt, as I already mentioned, the level of the debt is too high, and this is not satisfying for Polestar. We are still compliant with our total debt covenant of $5.5 billion USD. We still have some headroom.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

As we mentioned previously, it is very much important for us to deliver this level of debt and to continue financing our operation and investing activity, diversifying our source of funding and raising new equity. When it comes to the cash burn, in H1, it is fair to comment that we had a negative EBITDA of $300 million, which obviously impacted our cash burn. Also, as part of our working capital improvements, we had a significant decrease of our inventory, which has moved from 23K units at the end of December 2024 to 14K units at the end of June 2025. This is a great achievement, which contributed to improve our working capital. However, at the same time, we had a very good commercial performance in June, but it impacted our level of receivable.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

In the meantime, we had paid some significant amounts to our related party, which caused all in one a negative variation of our working capital management with, I will say, considering the investing level that we had in H1, to an average cash burn of around $140 million USD for the first six months of H1, which is not aligned with our normalized cash burn, considering the previous effect that I have mentioned. Now, entering H2, as you know, we paused our financial guidance, so I will not comment. Clearly, I will say considering still the increase of our volume, the improvement of our car line mix, as well as our expected profitability, normally, the operating cash burn should improve.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Also, it is fair to say that in terms of cash use for investing activity, we are expecting a higher cash out linked to a tail of legacy investments related to the Polestar 5, but also our factory in Busan. Looking forward in 2026, normally, this level of cash burn should improve with the improvement of our profitability, but also less CapEx spending.

Andres Sheppard
MD & Senior Equity Analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald

Wonderful. That's super helpful. I really appreciate all that color. Maybe as just a quick follow-up, with the Polestar 5 now becoming available, curious, you know, how should we think about the ASPs, the blended ASPs, and the gross margins for the rest of the year? You know, what kind of demand might you expect from the Polestar 5, and how might that impact margins and ASPs for the second half of the year? Thank you.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Yeah. Thanks, Andres. Mikey, let me take that. Obviously, first, I mean, the Polestar 5 is a very, very unique sports car, right? GT, high performance, a lot of technology in there. It really stands for what the Polestar brand is all about, right? It's summarized in this car. From a financial perspective, don't think this is a volume model, right? This is a brand halo. This is a brand shaper. Of course, we will sell it strongly, but the point is not like this is high volume. This is really what the Polestar brand as a premium brand stands for. Once we then bring it to the market, obviously, we will have launch events. We will do this in a very, very unique way, what this car deserves, right? ASP will follow accordingly. Of course, we will have positive margins with this car.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

As the volume is limited, I wouldn't expect major, major changes. This is all about what the Polestar brand stands for. The Polestar 5 is not an absolute volume car. I think that's important to keep in mind. I don't know, Jean-François, if you want to add a few things from your side.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

No, nothing to add. Fully aligned, Michael.

Andres Sheppard
MD & Senior Equity Analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald

Wonderful. Thank you so much. I'll pass it on.

Operator

Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press *1 1 on your telephone. We will take our next question, and the question comes from the line of Dan Levy from Barclays. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Dan Levy
Senior Equity Research Analyst at Barclays Corporate & Investment Bank

Hi. Good afternoon. Thank you for taking the question. I wanted to just start with a question on your U.S. presence. If you could just remind us, I know you said you're primarily European-focused on the volumes at this point, but if you could just remind us what your U.S. exposure is and what the strategy will be after the EV tax credit goes away.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Thanks, Dan. Michael, again, yeah, I take this, and maybe Jean-François will add a few financial figures. First, if you look at Polestar H1, 77% of our sales are in Europe, 8% in the U.S., right? I think those are strong numbers. We are clearly focused on Europe. This is where we make a lot of progress. There's a reason why we're up 51% in H1. Those are strong growth numbers, and they're absolutely driven by Europe, right? We are very, very successful in Europe, in particular in the UK, in the Nordics. Germany is picking up nicely. We go into new markets. I think we have a very, very big success story in Europe going on. The U.S. is also important, and I think we have a very good setup. We can use the Volvo Cars plant in Charleston, South Carolina. I think localization is important.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

I will say very clearly, we need to find the right balance between volume and profitability, right? While tariffs are a burden for our financial results, and Jean-François has illustrated this in the prepared remarks very well, we will have to optimize volume and profitability and find that right balance, right? I think the setup is good with a local factory. We bring now the Polestar 4 also to the U.S. This will also be very helpful. We will not grow in the U.S. at any cost, right, because the financial exposure is then too high. Of course, even after the disappearance of the tax credit, the U.S. will stay an important market for us. I also do believe that eventually, the market will price for cost increases, right? I've never seen in many, many years in automotive that cost increases have not led to price increases.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Unfortunately, at the moment, the price environment is pretty competitive. We will continue to operate successfully in the U.S. That's a good summary. I don't know, Jean-François, anything you want to add?

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

No, maybe just to add that it is true that Polestar 3, being the only one car model sold into the U.S. and being under significant pressure due to tariffs, due to the fact that tax incentives will disappear. As you mentioned it, Michael, indeed, I think probably the market will price these disappearance of the tax incentives. At the same time, I'm waiting for Polestar 4. We are continuing working with our partners, so Volvo Cars, in order to relocalize some parts and components which are currently subject to tariffs. We are working as well, continuing working on the reduction of the cost of our product. Over the last 12 months, we had good results. The average cost of our product has decreased by 8% in average. Polestar 3 beneficiated from this decrease.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

Among those cost reductions, to be mentioned that the cost of the battery, which is a key component of our car, also decreased in average by 10%. All those actions that we are monitoring, which are in our hand, should help to improve the profitability of the Polestar 3 in the U.S. Of course, with Polestar 4 coming from Korea very soon, the profitability will increase further.

Dan Levy
Senior Equity Research Analyst at Barclays Corporate & Investment Bank

Okay. Great. Thank you. As a follow-up, I know you've withdrawn your guidance, but maybe you could just conceptually remind us of the items that you'll need to do to eventually get to EBITDA break-even. I mean, if you could just walk through maybe conceptually what types of volumes we need to see, what has to happen on the mix, and what are the mitigants now to what seems to be what you're talking to, a tougher pricing environment, tariffs, and what seems to be a tougher channel mix. If you could just conceptually walk through the items that need to occur to get to EBITDA break-even.

Jean-François Mady
Jean-François Mady
CFO at Polestar

We are still currently, I would say, assessing all the external headwinds that Polestar is facing, including tariffs, but also changing policies and regulations. We are also looking at further what is under our control, and we are also investigating some further synergies and cooperation. It is too early to come back to you. We are working on a new business plan, and as soon as everything will be validated, we will come back to you with a clear guidance.

Dan Levy
Senior Equity Research Analyst at Barclays Corporate & Investment Bank

Okay, thank you.

Operator

Thank you. There seems to be no further questions. I would like to hand back for closing remarks.

Michael Lohscheller
Michael Lohscheller
CEO & Director at Polestar

Thank you, operator. Thank you, everybody, for joining our call. I hope we gave you a very clear overview of our financial performance in the second quarter of this year, but also in the first six months. As we said in our opening remarks, we do the right things, but there are obviously several things which are not in our control. Thank you for joining, and let's stay connected and hope to see you soon. If you can make it, as I said, come to the IIA in Munich, and you will see the most beautiful car Polestar ever did, the Polestar 5. With that, let's stay in touch. Thank you for joining. Have a wonderful day.

Operator

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

Analysts
    • Anna Gavrilova
      Head - IR at Polestar
    • Michael Lohscheller
      CEO & Director at Polestar
    • Jean-François Mady
      CFO at Polestar
    • Winnie Dong
      Director - Equity Research at Deutsche Bank
    • Tobias Beith
      Research Analyst at Redburn Atlantic
    • Andres Sheppard
      MD & Senior Equity Analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald
    • Dan Levy
      Senior Equity Research Analyst at Barclays Corporate & Investment Bank
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