The Swedish EV brand Polestar has unveiled a first glimpse of what the new 2 and 7 will look like. Is the timing of the design meant to mask the tough news that accompanied the latest publication of its balance sheet?
Geely-owned Polestar has pulled back the curtain on the Formula 2030 design study at its Göteborg headquarters. The closed-door preview must give investors, retail partners, and a handful of VIP customers an idea of what the next design chapter will look like.
Dampening effort
This is not an unimportant chapter for a brand that had a designer – Thomas Ingenlath – as its first CEO and which can rely on looks as a solid sales argument.
But it’s hard not to see a dampening effort in this unveiling, after the company published disappointing revenue figures for the first half of the year.
Though the public will have to wait until later this year for the full reveal, design chief Philipp Römers describes Formula 2030 as a “bold evolution”. It will not be a revolution, which seems only logical for a still young brand that continuously has to work on its awareness.
Strong brand identity
So, the concept keeps the signature Dual Blade headlamps and sharp Scandinavian lines, but the shadow play in the picture shows how these stretch into a more assertive proportion.
Though the number 2030 clearly points to the end of the decade as the horizon for this exercise, we will already see the first results on the next Polestar 2, due in 2027, as well as on the Polestar 7, planned for 2028.
According to Römers, the brand’s identity is already strong enough so that it did not need reinvention, only refinement. The showcar also signals a broader push into new materials and interior sustainability.
Worse than expected
For Polestar, it is a convenient moment to change the subject. The brand has just published its first-half 2026 financials, reporting worse-than-expected results.
Revenue for the first six months fell 4% to $1.36 billion. But revenue for the second quarter slipped by double the percentage points (8%) and reached $727 million. The company posted a net loss of $459 million for the quarter.
CEO Lohscheller highlighted that the operating loss narrowed by 43% compared with the same period last year, but that improvement was swallowed by a $211 million hit from restructuring its US operations.
Failed exemption
Luckily, sales volume tells a slightly better story. Polestar moved a record 30,423 cars so far this year, with second-quarter deliveries jumping 39% year-over-year to roughly 17,296 vehicles. The strategy of returning to dealerships to win over new customers, in collaboration with Volvo, seems to be working.
Still, the company has walked back its 2026 volume growth target (originally 30-35% to single digits), which didn’t go over well with stock traders. They sent the shares a whopping 27% lower after the earnings release.
The worse-than-expected performance is down to the U.S. Polestar failed to secure an exemption under the U.S. Connected Vehicle Rule.
It is now banned from importing and selling its vehicles because its hardware and software are tied to Chinese origins. The second biggest car market in the world is closed for Polestar.
For the final half year, the brand is betting on success from its 5 and 4 SUVs, which now lean very hard on Europe and Asia. Let’s hope the Formula 2030 also signals that the mother company, Geely, is keeping its faith at least until 2030.
