Polestar lands $550 million of funding from new investors

Polestar, the Swedish electric car company, has raised USD550 million from a group of long-term financial investors.

The private placement of newly issued shares marks the first time external investors have backed Polestar’s products, brand, industrial capability, financial ambitions and growth potential.The group of investors is led by Chongqing Chengxing Equity Investment Fund Partnership, Zibo Financial Holding and Zibo Hightech Industrial Investment. They have been joined by I Cube Capital, an arm of SK Inc., the South Korean global conglomerate, and a range of other investors.Since its launch three-and-a-half years ago, Polestar has developed its own manufacturing capability in China along with a global sales and distribution operation. The company has also launched two electric vehicles, the Polestar 1 and Polestar 2. Earlier this week, Polestar said it would be expanding the model range on the Polestar 2 to include dual and single-motor powertrains with long and standard-range battery options in order to reach out to a wider audience.Polestar claims the new investment sets the stage for future growth by diversifying its funding structure and deepening the resources available. This will allow it to accelerate its product development and technological capability ahead of the launch of several electric cars in coming years, according to the manufacturer.Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, said: “Our new investors have recognised that Polestar offers an alluring combination of established industrial and technological capability alongside superlative growth potential as the global auto industry goes electric.”