The longtime CEO of electric vehicle maker Polestar, Thomas Ingenlath, has resigned, effective Oct. 1, the company announced in a press release Wednesday.
Ingenlath served as the company’s top executive since its inception in 2017 as a new performance EV brand operated jointly by Volvo Cars and its parent company Geely.
“I am very proud of what we’ve achieved together in the last seven years,” said Ingenlath in the release. “We had the vision of an electric premium brand which puts performance and design at its core. And we made it, the dream became reality.”
Taking over as CEO is Michael Lohscheller, who has previously served as CEO of automaker Opel, Vietnam-based EV startup VinFast and hydrogen-electric truck maker Nikola Corp. Lohscheller stepped down as president and CEO of Nikola Aug. 4, 2023.
“I am honored to join Polestar at such an exciting time in the Company’s history,” said Lohscheller in the release. “Polestar has already established itself as one of the most desirable and innovative brands in the electric vehicle space, and I look forward to working with the talented team to build on this strong foundation and accelerate our development.”
Polestar says that Lohscheller brings a wealth of automotive expertise to the CEO role, including navigating competitive markets and scaling businesses.
“His deep industry knowledge, especially in driving operational excellence, developing a coherent product strategy and strengthening the global market presence will be instrumental in the next chapter of Polestar’s growth,” said incoming Polestar Chairman Winfried Vahland, in the release.
Lohscheller is joining Polestar as the company faces dwindling investor confidence, slower than anticipated sales and rising global competition in the EV segment.
Polestar went public in June 2022, but in July, the company received a notice of noncompliance for not meeting the Nasdaq’s $1 minimum bid price requirement. The company was given 180 days, or until Jan. 2, 2025, to regain compliance.
The delisting warning came just weeks after Volvo Cars shed a majority of its stake in Polestar. Volvo Cars now owns just 18% of the EV brand, down from a 48% stake it held in February.
However, Polestar announced on Thursday that it secured up to $300 million in external funding, in the form of a one-year revolving term loan facility intended for general corporate purposes.
Earlier this month, Polestar started production of its luxury SUV, the Polestar 3, at Volvo Cars’ Ridgeville, South Carolina, factory. Polestar plans to have five performance EVs on the market by 2026.
Polestar delivered 13,150 cars globally in Q2 2024.
