Polestar said on Wednesday it will replace current CEO Thomas Ingenlath with a former boss of Opel and EV startups, the latest senior management change at a challenging time for the loss-making electric vehicle (EV) maker and the automotive industry.
Its new CEO, Michael Lohscheller has previously served as CEO of Stellantis-owned carmaker Opel, Vietnamese EV maker VinFast and electric truckmaker Nikola (NKLA.O) and will start in the position on Oct. 1, the company said in a statement.
Polestar, like many other EV makers, has experienced a tough 2024, hurt by a slowdown in demand for electric cars and pressure to cut prices amid a price war ignited by Tesla (TSLA.O) last year.
The leadership change constitutes a further shift away from Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST), which alongside China's Geely (GEELY.UL), was one of the co-founders and major financial backers of Polestar until this year.
Ingenlath was Volvo's senior vice-president of design before he became Polestar's CEO in 2017.
The company elected a new chair in June, replacing Hakan Samuelsson who was Volvo's CEO for nearly 10 years. It also replaced its head of design last week, who also had his background in Volvo.
Two of Polestar's cars, its models 2 and 3 are both produced in Volvo Cars factories, but its model 4 cars are made in a factory run by Geely and not based on Volvo's platform.
"Polestar has experienced an exceptional start-up phase and with a broader model line-up, Michael Lohscheller is the ideal leader to guide Polestar into its next chapter," the automaker's chairperson Winfried Vahland said.
The former Opel chief is taking over the reins at a challenging time for the EV maker as it embarks on a major cost-cutting programme in an attempt to become profitable and cashflow breakeven in 2025.
Punitive import tariffs by the EU, United States and Canada on China-made EVs have added further pressure on costs as the company works on reducing its reliance on production in China.
The company has faced several delays to the roll-out of its newest models, while accounting misstatements have caused significant delays in turning in financial reports.
