Li Shufu suffers a big setback after investing an additional 1.4 billion in new automotive forces.

Polestar, the car brand that exited the Chinese market, is still fraught with crises.

As of the close of the U.S. stock market on the last trading day of last week, Polestar's stock price tumbled 16.28%, reaching only about $0.5, and it is on the verge of delisting. According to the company's semi - annual report for 2025, Polestar's operating revenue was $1.423 billion, and its net profit attributable to the parent company was - $1.193 billion, a year - on - year decline of 119.37%. The asset - liability ratio was as high as 217.11%, indicating insolvency.

In June this year, Li Shufu, the chairman of Geely Holding Group, injected $200 million (approximately RMB 1.42 billion) in equity investment in an attempt to "put out the fire." At that time, Polestar's stock price was $1.06. Just with this "increased" investment, Li Shufu has suffered a floating loss of over 50% in just five months.

Not long ago, Polestar closed its last direct - sales store in China and transformed to online sales. According to "Next - Generation Auto Research Institute," currently, Polestar only has the Polestar 4 model in its lineup. The Polestar 2 has been discontinued, and the Polestar 3 is yet to be launched, with its production line still in China.

Regarding the after - sales maintenance of the cars, the customer service explained: "You can go to the officially authorized Volvo 4S stores for maintenance, but not all authorized stores can provide such services. Taking Beijing as an example, there are about three to four authorized stores, and you need to make an appointment in advance."

Facing Delisting, After - Sales Becomes a Problem

Looking back at Polestar's listing process, on June 24, 2022, Polestar made its debut on the NASDAQ. In just three and a half years, Polestar's stock price has dropped from $13 to about $0.5, a cumulative decline of 94.4%.

What's more concerning is that Polestar is facing a delisting crisis. According to the NASDAQ listing rules, the stock price of a listed company must be above $1 for 30 consecutive trading days, while Polestar's stock price has long hovered below $1. Polestar must complete the rectification before April 29, 2026.

Public information shows that Polestar was jointly created by Volvo and Geely Holding Group. It once claimed to compete with Tesla and announced its independence in 2017. In the years when the new - energy vehicle market was expanding rapidly, Polestar's sales performance was hardly remarkable.

In the global market, from 2021 to 2024, Polestar's sales volumes were 29,000, 51,500, 54,626, and 44,851 vehicles respectively. Specifically in the Chinese market, Polestar's highest annual sales volume in four years was only 2,048 vehicles, and in the other three years, it fluctuated around 1,500 vehicles. Since 2025, Polestar's domestic business has almost come to a standstill, with only 163 vehicles sold in the first 10 months of this year.

Perhaps due to the continuous slump in sales, in October this year, Polestar closed its last direct - sales store at the L+Plaza in Shanghai's Qiantan area. A relevant person in charge of Polestar said externally, "Polestar is strategically adjusting its business model in China to better meet the diverse and rapidly changing consumer demands in the Chinese market. The closure of the retail stores does not mean that Polestar will exit the Chinese market. This adjustment will not affect the rights and interests of existing Polestar owners, and other businesses in China will also continue to operate stably."

Currently, Polestar mainly adopts an online sales model. Consumers can learn about product information and complete the car - purchasing process through digital channels such as the official website. It is understood that currently, Polestar only has the Polestar 4 model on sale. The Polestar 2 has been discontinued, and the Polestar 3 is yet to be launched, with its production line still in China. In terms of price, the Polestar 4 has two versions. The single - motor version is priced at RMB 339,900, and the dual - motor version is priced at RMB 399,900. As for the detailed transaction price, the official customer service of Polestar said it was difficult to provide, stating, "It needs in - depth discussion."

Regarding the after - sales maintenance of the cars, the customer service said: "You can go to the officially authorized Volvo 4S stores for maintenance, but not all authorized stores can provide such services. Taking Beijing as an example, there are about three to four authorized stores, and you need to make an appointment in advance."

In addition, according to the complaint data on the Chezhiwang website, Polestar has also been widely criticized for quality and service issues. Some consumers said that the front radar of Polestar cars gave false alarms multiple times, and it was only barely resolved after 5 - 6 repairs, seriously affecting driving safety. What's even more worrying is that Polestar also has serious assembly process defects, including abnormal noises from the door handles and multiple parts inside the car, while the after - sales department shirked the repairs by claiming them as "common problems."

"Polestar Is the Bridgehead for Geely's Global Layout"

In fact, the difficulties of Polestar have shown signs early on. As early as May 2023, Polestar publicly stated that it was strengthening its focus on cost management, including freezing global recruitment and laying off 10% of its staff. Since this year, such adjustments have continued to accelerate, including initiating a staff reduction plan for the sales and operation departments and shrinking the distribution network.

For example, in February, Polestar Technology, which was jointly established by Polestar and Xingji Meizu under Geely, was reported to have carried out an organizational structure adjustment. In April, Polestar issued an announcement saying that it had signed a termination agreement with Xingji Meizu and decided to end the business operation of their joint - venture company Polestar Technology in China.

The shrinkage in business has directly led to a decline in performance. From 2021 to the first half of this year, Polestar's cumulative net profit attributable to the parent company has suffered a loss of nearly $6 billion. According to the semi - annual report for 2025, Polestar's operating revenue was $1.423 billion, and its net profit attributable to the parent company was - $1.193 billion, a year - on - year decline of 119.37%. The asset - liability ratio was as high as 217.11%, indicating insolvency.

Based on this situation, Geely Group is rushing to "put out the fire": on the one hand, the shareholder Volvo announced the reduction of its stake in Polestar to prevent further losses; on the other hand, Geely Group has continued to "infuse blood" into it. In mid - June, Polestar announced that it had received a $200 million (approximately RMB 1.42 billion) equity investment from the existing investor PSD Investment Limited, which is actually controlled by Li Shufu. Calculated in this way, as of the close of the U.S. stock market on November 14, just with this "increased" investment, Li Shufu, the chairman of Geely Holding Group, has suffered a floating loss of over 50% in five months.

Regarding the reason for continuously "increasing the stake" in Polestar, in August last year, Li Donghui, the CEO of Geely Holding Group, responded that it was because Polestar is the bridgehead for Geely Holding Group's global layout and has important strategic significance for the group's global development.

As he said, in the sales data of Geely Group for the first three quarters of 2025, the group's total exports were nearly 300,000 vehicles, among which Polestar contributed 40,000 vehicles, accounting for 13%. Although the base is small, it also shows that Polestar is still a part of Geely's overseas expansion. As for how long it will take for Polestar to achieve "self - sufficiency," Li Shufu may be more eager to know the answer than anyone else.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Sina Technology." Author: Zhang Ao. Republished by 36Kr with permission.