Polestar held a silent protest in Brussels on Monday, a day before the European Commission presents a proposal to scale back from its 2035 ban of combustion engine vehicle sales in the bloc.
The vehicles, driven outside the European institution’s headquarters, carried messages reading “Still committed / Still electric.”
“A convoy of Polestar cars sends a clear message: Europe must stay on track for 100% zero-emissions cars by 2035. Not 90%,” the company wrote in a new social media post.
CEO Michael Lohscheller has spoken openly about this policy change over the past few months, against industry leaders who have pressured the EU to scale back on the ban.
These include executives from brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Stellantis (for which Lohscheller has worked before, as the CEO of Opel).
Additionally, a letter signed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, with support from Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia, was sent earlier this month to the Commission.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also requested the institution to allow hybrid and highly efficient combustion engine vehicles beyond 2035.
In Germany, subsidies for EV purchases have recently been reinstated after abruptly ending in the end of 2023. However, Merz says customers are still reluctant to buy electric.
Lohscheller’s Take
On Monday, Polestar‘s CEO stated that “moving from a clear 100% zero-emissions target to 90% may seem small, but if we backtrack now, we won’t just hurt the climate,” but “Europe’s ability to compete.”
Lohscheller says that delaying the 2035 target would only postpone what is ultimately unavoidable.
“Electrification will create long-term prosperity and jobs for the decades to come,” he stated, while “reversing course would do the opposite: extending the life of outdated industries for a few short years while the rest of the world moves ahead.”
Earlier this month, the executive had also noted that “pausing 2035 is just a bad, bad idea. I have no other words for that.”
“If Europe doesn’t take the lead in this transformation, be rest assured, other countries will do it for us.”
Now, he notes that “Europe doesn’t have a demand problem, it has a confidence problem.”
Prior Comments
Polestar‘s CEO told Automotive News in September that he “totally” disagrees with the pushback.
While he admitted that the transition to electrified vehicles is “not going linear, these things happen, life is not linear.”
“I have never seen any example in any industry where delaying or postponing helps anything,” Lohscheller added, warning that “if you postpone it, you put even more jobs in danger.”
Responding to several complaints that Europe’s electric vehicle infrastructure is not ready, he stated that “customers have access to 1 million charging points.”
“How many do you need? 50 million? 100 million? 300 million?,” the CEO questioned, ironically adding, “I mean, come on.”
By then, Lohscheller reiterated that Polestar is “an EV brand, and so that clarity is really important,” when asked whether the company might produce hybrids in the future.
According to the chief executive, it would go against the brand’s positioning, and lead costumers to “absolutely go bananas.”
Confident in the company’s direction, the chief executive declared this Monday that “electric is the only way forward, and we say no to combustion engines.”
Polestar‘s US-listed shares reached a new all-time low last Thursday, extending losses from a day earlier, when the 1-for-30 reverse stock split took effect.
Despite a rebound on Friday, shares are trading about 4.5% lower on Monday at $13.69 — equivalent to $0.456 before the reverse stock split.
