- Thomas Ingenlath will step down as Polestar CEO on October 1.
- He will likely be changed by Michael Lohscheller.
- Lohscheller was beforehand CEO at Opel, VinFast and Nikola Motor.
Polestar, the electrical automobile producer owned by Chinese language-based large Geely, can have a brand new chief working officer beginning subsequent month. On October 1, Thomas Ingenlath, who served as CEO for the reason that firm’s inception as a standalone automaker in 2017, will step down.
Michael Lohscheller will take his place and attempt to rework Polestar from an EV startup into a much bigger participant within the automotive business. Lohscheller was CEO at a number of different automotive firms within the final decade. Between 2017 and 2021 he spearheaded Opel, then moved to the place of World CEO at VinFast. After simply seven months, he jumped ship to Nikola, the maker of battery- and hydrogen-powered large rigs, the place he acted as each president and CEO till September 2023, in line with his LinkedIn profile.

Michael Lohscheller, the brand new CEO of Polestar
“Polestar has skilled an distinctive start-up section and with a broader mannequin line-up, Michael Lohscheller is the best chief to information Polestar into its subsequent chapter,” mentioned Winfried Vahland, Polestar’s incoming Chairman. “His deep business data, particularly in driving operational excellence, growing a coherent product technique and strengthening the worldwide market presence will likely be instrumental within the subsequent chapter of Polestar’s progress.”
Polestar, which at the moment sells three fashions–the Polestar 2, Polestar 3 and Polestar 4–had a tough first half of the yr when it comes to gross sales. Globally, the Geely subsidiary sold roughly 20,200 cars, down 27% year-over-year.
All three fashions are at the moment being assembled in China, which isn’t perfect for the aspiring automaker’s U.S. ambitions, contemplating the hiked import tariffs. Its fortunes, stateside no less than, lie on the Polestar 3 which just lately entered native manufacturing in South Carolina, thus avoiding expensive import duties and conserving losses to a minimal.
As a reminder, Polestar desires to combat with names like BMW, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz. In different phrases, it’s betting on high-priced fashions in a market that seemingly desires extra reasonably priced vehicles, so it will likely be attention-grabbing to see what its new CEO will deliver to the desk.
“Polestar has already established itself as one of the crucial fascinating and modern manufacturers within the electrical automobile area, and I look ahead to working with the proficient group to construct on this sturdy basis and speed up our improvement,” mentioned Michael Lohscheller.
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