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Tesla, Tariffs & Taking Opportunities – Polestar’s CEO Tells All! | Fully Charged Show Podcast
00:29:04
In this exclusive episode of the Fully Charged Show Podcast, Imogen sits down with Michael Lohscheller, the newly appointed CEO of Polestar Cars. With a rich background spanning legacy giants like VW and Mitsubishi, to EV disruptors like Nikola and...
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- [00:03]
Robert Llewellyn
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Fully charged show podcast where today we're joined by the CEO of Polestar Cars, Michael Loescheller. Now, Michael has had an absolutely fascinating career. He's got over 20 years of executive level experience from CFO at Mitsubishi Motors, CFO at VW Group USA, CEO of Opel and Vauxhall, CEO of VinFast and CEO of Nikola Motors and now CEO of Polestar Cars. He joined the organization in October 2024amidst concerns around low sales, profitability, transitioning from a one car brand to a three car brand, opening a manufacturing plant in South Carolina, and with the launch of the Polestar 5 and the Polestar 7 just around the corner. But these challenges are known challenges and they're perhaps gazumped by the geopolitical turmoil that we've seen in recent months thanks to Trump's tariffs and their corresponding impact to the the automotive industry worldwide. So we are going to get into all of that. But before we do, first a very quick advert break. We've teamed up with Duracell Energy to celebrate their brilliant ecosystem of home energy products and their platinum home owner offer by giving away a Duracell bunny to win. Simply watch to the end and answer a question about fully charged. Michael, it is so serendipitous to be having this conversation today on Tuesday 13th May, because it was exactly a year ago that I was sat your predecessor in Madrid having just driven the Polestar 3 and 4 for for the first time. So I wonder what we'll be doing on May 13, 2026. Now you joined the job a joined Polestar in the role of CEO in October 2024. Why do you think you're chosen for the job?
- [01:46]
Michael Loeschella
Well, that's a good question I guess obviously I have a lot of experience in the industry. I was with Volkswagen but also at Opel, had various CEO roles but I was also running younger companies, Nikola in the US and maybe all that experience together is a good starting point. And obviously I also like the cars, right. I like the brand and happy to be with Polestar.
- [02:12]
Robert Llewellyn
Looking at your cv, it made complete sense that of course you were going to be chosen as CEO of Polestar because as you describe you have a lot of legacy OEM experience as well as those newer EV startups. I wonder what are you going to take from your legacy OEM experience and your new OEM experience and meld together to make work at Polestar?
- [02:33]
Michael Loeschella
Well, always put the best things together, right? I think there are so many strengths legacy OEM companies have. @ the same time, smaller companies like Polestar and also younger companies are different. So you have to put the best of the two worlds together, because if you just copy things from one world to the other, it will not work. Right. So many things are different at Polestar. We are much faster in decision making. We are also much faster in terms of implementation. At the same time, we need support. We need support from Volvo, from Geely. And bringing all this together I think is important. And just copying things from different companies is never a good recipe for success. And that's also what I learned at Nikola. So don't copy things, find your own way. There's a very unique Polestar culture. There are very clear reasons why also people join the company. And at the same time, we as a young company need to learn certain things. Right. And therefore it's sometimes good to look at how have legacy OEM companies manage this doesn't mean we will copy it one to one.
- [03:39]
Robert Llewellyn
So having been in the role for eight or nine months so far, if it was a sliding scale between legacy OEM and new EV startup, where would you position Polestar? What does it most closely resemble?
- [03:52]
Michael Loeschella
I would describe it in the following way. So obviously we are a very unique Scandinavian brand, but we have an asset light business model. Sounds a bit technical. What does it mean? We really need the support of Volvo and also Geely. Right. So on the product side, from both, on the distribution side, in particular from Volvo, Imagine like a new company. What do you need? First, you need service points where you go with your cars in case something happens. Polestar has 1100 service locations. That's phenomenal. But we can only do it because of Volvo. Right. So I actually think we have to find our own way and use the strengths that the bigger and large company is offering and at the same time keep our uniqueness. Right. Does that make sense?
- [04:38]
Robert Llewellyn
That makes complete sense. And that asset light structure is something that I really, really want to come onto as we go through this conversation. Okay. We have so many things to talk about with regards to challenges for the business and the impact of tariffs and all of that geopolitical uncertainty that we're currently experiencing. But before we get to that, I want to ask about the architecture Strategy, because Polestar 2, 3 and 4 all sit on different architectures. 2 is based on a former internal combustion engine vehicle from Volvo. Three is a Volvo platform. Four is a Geely platform. I don't know what the plan is for 5, 6 and 7, but that does introduce quite a lot of complexity, which is something that for a newer automotive company, you perhaps wanted something that felt a bit more lean. What's the implication of that and what's the plan going forward?
- [05:27]
Michael Loeschella
Yeah, I mean, first of all, you're right. Every car has a separate platform and I'm sure there were very good reasons to do it like this. Also advantages. Right. Because otherwise people wouldn't have decided for that. But if I look at it now as a new person and say, hey, look, that is a lot of level of complexity, it drives a lot of costs. Right. And a lot of investment. So I want to harmonize this over time. Right, so meaning the Polestar 7 is a compact SUV which we will launch in Europe and that is the first car where we will use group architectures. Right. And then harmonizes over time because this is where you get efficiency. At the same time, you want to make sure that you have all the customer requirements in your platform. So we also need a platform which allows all this. Right. But having a platform strategy is really important, something we will introduce at Portstar now.
- [06:20]
Robert Llewellyn
So when you say harmonize that architecture strategy, that means that they'll start to sit on the same sorts of platforms moving forwards.
- [06:27]
Michael Loeschella
Yes.
- [06:28]
Robert Llewellyn
Perfect. So what can you tell me about the 7 and the 5? If we would have a sort of headline pitch?
- [06:35]
Michael Loeschella
So very, very different. So the Polestar 5, which will come in the second half of this year, is on a separate platform. It is a phenomenal sports car. Right. It has bonded aluminium 800 volt technology and it's really a phenomenal, I would actually call it. It's like a UFO. Right. Very, very fantastic to drive the Polestar 7. Then at a later stage will be the first car which we will introduce on a new group architecture. And obviously going in a very different segment. Right. Compact SUV segment, the fastest growing segment in the world, I think, in the meantime, also the biggest segment in the world. And I think it's really important that Polestar is in this segment, competes in this segment, but also shows then the typical Polestar DNA with this car. Right. So very different. The one is absolutely a brand halo, the Polestar 5. Right. With all the technology, all the performance, super exciting. Also at a very different price point. And then the Polestar 7 in a segment which is much broader, but obviously also having the Polestar DNA and the typical elements Polestar is offering.
- [07:43]
Robert Llewellyn
And of course, if you Google anything about the seven, you don't have to search too far and it'll say Tesla Model Y competitor, which I think is something that we probably need to Touch on in this next section. So you joined the business at a really challenging time for Polestar, and you will set a very clear mandate to improve sales and improve profitability. And you knew those things coming in. Of course you did. You knew what the challenge was. But maybe what you wouldn't have been able to foresee is the uncertainty that we've experienced in recent months with the tariffs, with the geopolitical uncertainty of their implication, the impact that has to your global manufacturing base, the impact to the sales in the US Et cetera, et cetera. There's also an opportunity in that Tesla perhaps has fallen slightly less out of favor, and that opens up an opportunity perhaps for Polestar sales. So I wonder if you could paint a picture for us what's on your list of stresses? What are the things that you're most worried about at this point in time?
- [08:42]
Michael Loeschella
Yeah, I would differentiate in the following way. So there are things which are in my or in our control. Right. And there are things which are not in our control. So let's walk through the two different buckets. So first of all, when I came, I saw like, Polestar is a very well established, young brand, very attractive with good products. Right. Polestar 2, 3 and 4. Now in the market, we bring more cars. I feel very good about that. And now what we are doing is increasing the number of retail locations, having more points where customers can go. And all this process is very much in our control. So we select new dealers like in the uk, like in Germany and all markets around the world. And we are growing volume. We have seen this in the first quarter. We grew our volume, our retail sales volume by 76%. I think that's a good start into the year. And it's driven by more retail locations, more, more product availability. So I feel very confident and good what I can control. And 75% of our sales are in Europe. So large scale. I feel good about Europe. I'm not saying I like everything, but I mean, it's good. So now let's move to the things I cannot control. So we have 11% of our sales in the US so obviously a much lower percentage. And there I do have to admit that I cannot control certain things. Right. And the tariffs do change. Sometimes they change on a monthly, weekly, but also daily basis. But I think we have quite a good setup in the US because we produce in a Volvo plant in Charleston, South Carolina. So that's our starting point. And obviously we want to localize more parts in the US because even without tariffs, localization of cars is the most cost effective and customer friendly way of doing business because you are faster to the customers, you have faster delivery times, you are closer. So that's a strategy we want to do anyhow. But I will admit that uncertainty about tariffs is there. But then I try to put myself into a customer point of view. And while I don't know, in media interviews and discussions, we always talk about tariffs now, right? Three years ago we talked about greater, I would say only. But customers don't get up in the morning and say, okay, what about the tariffs and my next choice of car? That's not how they think. They think, okay, do I want to go zero emission, do I want to have a performance car, do I want to have a good looking car, do I want to have a sustainable car? And obviously what sort of price. They don't get up in the morning and say, oh, what about the tariffs? That's a bit us.
- [11:24]
Robert Llewellyn
That is a bit us. And we're here having this conversation at the financial times future of the car event of which so many of the conversations come back to this idea of localization, the impact of tariffs and of course some stuff about software defined vehicles as well. So you're right. But the thing that customers perhaps care the most about, and I think if they had a hierarchy of needs of, you know, there are some people who can afford to switch a zero emission vehicle without really thinking about costs. But for most people it will be that affordability question. And whilst we let these tariffs play out, presumably you will have to pass on some of that cost to your.
- [11:58]
Michael Loeschella
Customers in the US and that's really a fair point. Customers do think about their total cost of ownership. Fleet customers calculate that very much in detail. But also retail customers in general are quite educated and have a view on what that means. And there you are. Right, And I totally agree. The question is, okay, will tariffs then lead to price increases? And I would always say like, okay, if you have short term cost increases, it will have an impact on the pricing of the industry. First of all, right, so at Polestar, we want to position Polestar as a premium EV brand. So we always look at certain competitors at a basket of competitors and then see, okay, what is our price premium? So I do expect that actually the industry will price because of tariffs and therefore prices will go up if tariffs stay in the way they have been sketched out.
- [12:52]
Robert Llewellyn
So in that world, and I realize I'm being very contentious here because especially when I know so many people in our audience absolutely adore Polestar, but in a World where we're looking at this premium EV segment and there is potentially this risk of increasing prices. What sets apart a brand like Polestar from say a cheaper ev, the likes of byd, for example, and those coming from China that exist at a slightly different price point but still can offer a reasonable amount of luxury. What does Polestar offer that BYD doesn't say?
- [13:24]
Michael Loeschella
Oh, many things, of course. I mean, starting with a brand, I think it's important to highlight we are a Scandinavian brand. I think you totally see and feel that in our design. We absolutely have a Scandinavian design and I think even our sharpest critics would admit to that. Right. It's very unique. Then we are so focused on performance of our cars. And you see that in the day to day drive. I mean, it's really fun to drive. You see that in suspension, in chassis tuning, in everything. And then I think also we do a very, very good job at sustainability. So those are three important things which clearly set us apart. And therefore, yeah, we also have a premium positioning of our brand and I think that makes a big difference in our favor, if I may say so.
- [14:09]
Robert Llewellyn
Oh, absolutely. And that fun and degree of refinement. And you know, we mentioned that I got to drive the cars in Madrid last year and the road that was selected was, had all of these hairpin bends and I thought, God, I feel like I'm in a Bond movie. This is incredible. Andy, one of our videographers tells me that it was. I certainly wouldn't have made the cut to be a stunt person in a Bond movie, but that's how it made me feel, which was extraordinary. Now we mentioned earlier on this sort of asset light structure and what that really means is that you're able to have this very distributed manufacturing operations across the world. So there's plants in China, South Korea, South Carolina. There's a factory planned for Europe, which I'm sure you can't share too many details on. Perhaps you can, but we'll come to that. But has that aided a degree of resilience, would you say, in this period of uncertainty?
- [15:03]
Michael Loeschella
Yeah, that is super important and super helpful because that's a backbone bone of your supply chain movements. Right. So obviously the South Carolina plan we talked about for the year is of highest importance. Korea is also important as a manufacturing hub for us and then also China. And as you say, the decision that we produce a Polestar 7 then in Europe, and we will specify the localization timing in the next couple of weeks is of highest importance because this car has to go where we have our biggest market and that certainly is in Europe.
- [15:35]
Robert Llewellyn
Right, so moving on to Europe then, I've got a couple of questions that I want to ask you about. So here in the uk, the ZEV mandate, so the plan that means we can phase out the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles, it's been undergoing some consultation. The targets have had a little bit more flexibility as a consequence. And you had a really interesting quote. You said, we can't change it all the time. You asked me about our portfolio, our investments. I invest based on certain criteria and if they change all the time, it's, it's hard, if not impossible to run a business. What we need is stability. And I thought that was really interesting because it's something that we see from many people we speak to within the automotive industry that there is a total disconnect between the time that you have to see into the future as an OEM versus maybe the timeline that governments are thinking on. And so I wonder what your perception is there and if you could ask for something from the various governments in Europe, what would you ask for?
- [16:30]
Michael Loeschella
Well, I would ask for stability because put yourself into the shoes of business leaders like us. So a couple of years ago, we were sharply criticized by exactly the same people not having enough EV offers in the market. There was a general tendency. So then the industry developed EVs and a company like Polestar invested billions of dollars into EVs only. So now everything is there. And also setting up a new company, investing into everything, implementing this is far from easy. Now we have done it. And then governments say, oh, we might change that. So what is my next three and five year plan then? And I think that's not reasonable, especially on all the requests which were being made, I don't know, seven, eight, ten years ago, right. And I was working then for different car companies and the theme was always from politicians. I mean, I met whoever and they said, okay, when is your first EV coming? Right? You should have more ev. And now I work for a company which has only EV cars, right? And then people say, oh, let's change things again. And I think that's very, very difficult to run a business. And therefore my request would be, let's keep the stability. Many of those agreements have been negotiated over years, over years. It's not like, okay, somebody came up within a few weeks and said, okay, this is a new mandate and I would recommend to everybody let's continue to do the right things and keep consistency, right? Stability of decisions, and then customers will appreciate this, right? They will see like, okay, if this is the way to go, then they experience the EV car. So, I mean, all these changing frameworks I think is not reasonable, it's not good for business, it's definitely not good for customers. And last but not least is also very, very bad for the environment. Something we have forgotten about it. And I want to remind all of all of us that climate change is so real. I mean, it was the hottest year last year in Europe, it will be the hottest year this year. So what are we waiting for? The transport sector has to make a contribution in terms of emissions and it has to start with cars. And therefore, I can only remind everybody, let's do the right things.
- [18:44]
Robert Llewellyn
I mean, it feels like such an obvious thing to say, remember the environment. That's why these, these targets have been set out in the first place. And so often it's missed from the conversation. It becomes this thing around tariffs as we've described, or can we meet this on time and all this sort of back and forth and it's not a good lesson in expectation management, certainly. But in order for governments to really empathize and to understand what's required from the automotive industry, do you think there's something missing? Do you think they need to spend better time within automotive organizations to see precisely what it takes to get an EV out the door?
- [19:18]
Michael Loeschella
Yeah, in fairness, I think most of them know. I think what's happening is that the topic of sustainability is not as prominent as it was two, three, four years ago. And I think that's a big problem. Right? So today we talk about 90% of all discussions about tariffs. Okay? We need to deal with tariffs and it's not good. And we will have to find solutions, no question. But we talk 2% about sustainability, right? And therefore I was so pleased to learn at Polestar that Polestar continues to do exactly the right thing. So we publish once a year sustainability report, super, super detailed and outline exactly what the CO2 emissions per car are. Right? And Polestar has reduced the CO2 emissions per car from 2020 to 2025 by 25%. A massive, massive achievement. And I was so pleased because I just came. I can't take credit for that, but I can congratulate my team on the great work and by doing many things right, I mean, doing recycled aluminium use, renewable energy, etc. Etc. So it can be done, but I think it's also important to get the credit for that. Right? And now everybody just talk tariffs. Well, how about we talk about our sustainability report, please?
- [20:32]
Robert Llewellyn
Well, you'll be Very, very pleased to know that in Jack's review. So Jackman represents on the channel, in his review of the Polestar, he used the numbers and he was able to show that this is the carbon footprint of this car versus a competitor. And it makes our job very easy as presenters because we will reference your numbers above and beyond anyone else, but certainly you warrant the credit. And I wonder, I think this is a perfect segue onto Polestar Zero. I wonder if you could share a little bit about what that is and how the things that are developed in that space are making their way into the rest of the Polestar product portfolio.
- [21:08]
Michael Loeschella
Yeah. So the idea is. Or the question is, can we produce a car without any emissions? Right. And that's obviously like a real moonshot project. Super difficult. But we are working on that and learning a lot of things, right? And we do this not on our own, but we do this with selected partners. And we have found ways to reduce another 10 tons of CO2 per car. And of course, we try to then integrate, step by step, all these learnings in, like, our regular cars. Right. It's a bit like from Formula one into the normal cast, and I think that makes a lot of sense. It's also fair to say we have not found a way to come to zero. Right. We are close, but isn't it okay to talk about that and to say what progress we have made and what is still missing? But I'm convinced, we are convinced it can be done, right? And therefore, again, let's continue to do the good things, the right things. People are very interested in that and we have to learn to do it. Because if we want to scale production of cars more and more, there will be the time where we have to say we have to find a way to produce cars without any emissions. Without any emissions.
- [22:15]
Robert Llewellyn
It's an incredible moonshot. And that point around celebrating progress over perfection, I think is so important because so often when we talk about sustainability or electric vehicles, it becomes quite a binary discussion. And none of this is binary. If you wanted the lowest emission way of moving around, you'd walk, you wouldn't even have a car, irrespective of whether it was electric or petrol or diesel or what have you. So it's an incredible concept. We're coming towards the end of this discussion and I really want to ask you about your plans to launch in France later this year. Why have you picked France and why is that such an important market for Polestar?
- [22:50]
Michael Loeschella
Very clearly, first of all, we do really well in Europe, as we have seen in our Q1 results. So we have a well established brand. France is a very big EV market. I think our products will be received very favorably in France and we can do similar things we have done, for example in the uk, select the right dealers, ideally in combination with Volvo then of course, which can offer the service immediately because that's such an important point. Right. So we have 1100 service points around the world for a young company, that's quite a bit. And we have also very competent French management. Right. I mean it's a local market, so I'm quite bullish on everything thing in France and it's good that we tackle this very big EV market in Europe and then we also want to tackle more markets in Europe like Eastern Europe. But France is really such a big, I think it's the third or fourth largest EV market. So we will be there. Right. We have to go.
- [23:49]
Robert Llewellyn
So being a European brand, having that Scandinavian DNA embedded within the products, also having sustainability front and center of what it means to be a polestar as well as the performance attributes as well, those are things that perhaps make up a polestar. Are they valued differently in different areas of Europe? Do you see that you have to dial up or dial down different things in your sales materials, for example.
- [24:12]
Michael Loeschella
Actually for Europe I think it's pretty consistent. Of course you always have certain preferences in a market, but I think in Europe it's very consistent. We are very well perceived as a Scandinavian brand. US is slightly different because obviously it's a much larger market also China is very different. It's interesting. So Chinese customers in general are first time buyers now. Right. And they also I think favor quite a bit Chinese brands. Right. So in that case it's not a benefit for us, but in Europe I feel we are absolutely being perceived as the Scandinavian brand, which is a benefit for us.
- [24:50]
Robert Llewellyn
I've got one more question to ask you and this is a slightly contentious one, so it might make you feel a little uncomfortable, but you've been in the role for eight months or so. If you were to have your performance review, how do you think that would go?
- [25:03]
Michael Loeschella
Well, I hope very well, of course, because first I would say we have outlined a very clear plan and that's so important. I mean, not only for the outside world but also internally. Right. So I think Polestar has done a lot of great work, but it was obvious that a few things were not connecting. Right. I mean, obviously the financials were not where they should be and I think the preciseness of and the clarity of the plan is of highest importance. I would not underestimate this. Give directions. Right. So key role of leadership is to give direction. Right? And we can't do everything. We have to focus on a few things, also say no to certain initiatives. To say like, we cannot do that and others like what we talked about, the Project Zero absolutely is a must. We will continue with that. Right. And we will also continue to do only bevs. Right? That's a clear must. So I would hope that my performance review would say, okay, we have laid out a plan. Then I would hope that people would say like, okay, we are in execution and the numbers of the first quarter are good. We are 76% up in terms of retail sales, we have a positive gross margin, costs are coming down. So I would hope for a reasonably good performance review.
- [26:19]
Robert Llewellyn
And as you know, performance reviews are two way. So what would be the one thing that you would ask for if you could be granted a magic wish that would make your next eight months just feel a little bit more seamless? What's the one thing you'd ask?
- [26:30]
Michael Loeschella
Just continue the things we are doing. Because you don't change things in two, three quarters, right? So you need to have consistency. And what I talked about, like leadership direction, we have to execute this for a longer period of time. Then everybody will see that it is working and everybody will appreciate that. Right? So some of the things coming back also to the political discussion, things are being changed too quickly and then there's confusion. Right. So I hope that we can execute this for a longer period of time and then we will get all the rewards.
- [27:06]
Robert Llewellyn
Thank you so much for joining us for this episode of the Fully Charged Show Podcast. Before you go, if you could do us the honour of like commenting, subscribing or sharing with a friend, it is so appreciated. It really ensures that we can carry on having interesting conversations with the likes of Michael Loeschella from Polestar. So that's it. Thank you to Louis from our team who will be editing this particular episode. Maybe it'll be George, we're not sure. But thank you to Louis or George, who are both sat in front of me and if you have been, thank you for listening. We're really excited to partner with Duracell Energy to showcase their amazing renewable energy solutions. If you want to reduce your energy bills and join the renewable energy transition, installing home battery storage and solar panels at home is a great way to start. Duracell Energy's ecosystem of products typically partners with solar panels, but they can be just as effective without it particularly for electric vehicle owners or anyone looking to take control of their energy. And with Duracell Energy's platinum homeowner offer, viewers can get a custom service that pairs you with top quality products and the best installers in your area. Your installation also comes with a 20 point check, a 6 month performance review system, health checks at 3 and 10 year periods, and outstanding local UK customer support every step of the way. Duracell Energy's batteries, inverters and EV chargers work together on one easy to use app. With features like dynamic tariff integration and grid services, you'll be able to maximize your return. Ready to get started? You can get your quote today. And don't forget, we're also giving away a Duracell Energy Bunny in every episode. Just answer the question about fully charged by following the link in the description. Good luck.