Geely-backed brand Polestar sold 729 vehicles in the UK in August, registration data published on Thursday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed.
Last month’s sales nearly doubled year over year, as the company had listed 374 vehicles in Britain a year ago.
Compared to July, however, registrations declined by 11.1% from 820 units, marking the second consecutive month of decline.
Reacting to the numbers, UK country chief Matt Galvin claimed in a new LinkedIn post this Thursday that “Polestar continues to top the table of the fastest growing premium car brands in the UK.”
“And yes I know, August is a small month for the motor industry, but for me consistency is important and maintaining momentum is a key priority,” Galvin wrote, adding that “Polestar were up 95% August ISO and are up 151% August YTD!”
From January 1 to August 31, the premium brand sold 9,872 electric vehicles in the United Kingdom.
Polestar‘s country chief noted that the auto market in the UK “continues to be challenging highlighted by the fact it shrank for the second month by 2%.”
Overall vehicle sales in the island declined to 82,908 units in August, from which 26.5% were battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 23.6% were hybrid models.
While internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles still made up half of new car registrations in the UK, the share for plug-in hybrids (PHEV) rose 69.4% year over year and fully electric vehicles’ rose by 14.9%.
However, “with more clarity coming every day around the electric car grant,” Matt Galvin is “cautiously optimistic that the industry will have a positive September.”
In August, the UK Government launched a £650 million ($873 million) Electric Car Grant Program, as part of its Plan for Change.
The program is set to run until 2028/2029 and will offer discounts up until £3,750 for EV models priced under £37,000, based on the sustainability of vehicle manufacturing.
According to the Government, it is not the consumer, but the seller who must apply for the grant and include it as a discount in the purchase price.
There are currently only two models qualified for the full £3,750 credit — the Ford E-Tourneo Courier and the Ford Puma Gen-E. The Ford Puma is the best-selling model in the country year to date.
Over 35 models in the UK qualify for a discount of up to £1,500 already. Polestar models are not yet included in the list.
Polestar‘s portfolio in the UK includes its three models — the Polestar 2 sedan and both the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 SUVs.
The EV maker is currently offering discounted prices on its lineup in the country, with its Polestar 2 sedan and Polestar 4 SUV’s starting prices lowered by £2,000 (around $2,700) to £43,160 ($58,000) and £58,000 ($78,000) respectively.
Its most expensive model, the Polestar 3 SUV, starts from £67,910, equivalent to $91,400.
The brand also set 0% APR financing for customers purchasing inventory units between July 1 and September 30.
On Wednesday, the EV maker reported its financial results for the first half of 2025, posting a gross loss of $703 million, compared with a $23 million loss in the prior year.
Polestar‘s shares dropped 17.3% on Wednesday to $1.10, nearing closer to Nasdaq’s $1.00 minimum requirement.
As of the time of writing, the company is trading 6.55% lower at $1.02 on Thursday’s market session, after Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu cut his price target on the stock by a third to $1.00 from $1.50.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard also noted on Thursday that he “continues to expect Polestar to be materially impacted by tariffs and geopolitics in the near term (since the company is primarily producing its vehicles in China), though the U.S. currently comprises <10% of total sales.”
