Polestar‘s April sales in the UK surged 82.7% year over year to 859 vehicles, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) showed this Tuesday.
The figures represent a 64.7% sequential decline from the record reached in March when it sold 2,434 vehicles.
Year to date, the Geely-backed brand registered 4,554 vehicles in the country, jumping 157.6% from the 1,768 sold a year earlier.
In September, Polestar announced that the UK would be among its first European markets to adopt a non-genuine agency sales model, as the company set the goal of achieving profitable growth by 2025.
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 ($57,400) and £58,000 ($77,100) respectively.
Its most expensive model, the Polestar 3 SUV, features a £4,000 (about $5,300) seasonal deduction, with prices beginning at £71,910, equivalent to $95,600.
Competitors
The island’s best-selling model in April was the Kia Sportage, available both as an hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV), with over 3,500 vehicles registered. Ford‘s hybrid Puma followed with around 3,300 units.
When it comes to brands, Volkswagen led the UK market, with a 8.7% share (equivalent to nearly 10,500 vehicles), followed by Ford and Kia.
If considering only new energy vehicle (NEV) brands, BYD was the best-seller with over 2,500 units registered. The China giant surged 654% year over year. XPeng, which expanded to the UK earlier this year, sold 9 units last month.
Tesla registered a 62% plunge from last year’s figures, with 512 EVs registered in April. The U.S. brand’s sales have been declining all over Europe in the past months.
EV Adoption
In April, more than 120,000 vehicles were sold in the UK, from which over 55,000 were NEVs. Of the total, 30,659 units were hybrids — including PHEVs.
Battery electric vehicles (BEV) had a market share of 20.4% with 24,558 units sold, which means that one in five cars bought in the country last month were fully electric.
British consumers still rely heavily on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, which represent over 50% of the market.
April Results
In Europe, Polestar sales posted a modest growth last month. In Switzerland, the brand sold 79 EVs, while in the Netherlands it registered 170 units.
The carmaker, which is backed by China’s Geely Holding Group, is headquartered in Sweden, where sales totaled 535 EVs in April. In Norway, the country with the biggest EV adoption in Europe, Polestar sold 189 vehicles.
Data from Motor Intelligence revealed that the carmaker sold 460 vehicles in the United States. In early April, as tariffs on imported vehicles and auto parts were imposed, the brand removed the option to configure the Polestar 2 model from its U.S. website.
Polestar 2 Recall
Over the weekend, Polestar announced a physical recall affecting nearly 28,000 Polestar 2 vehicles manufactured between 2021 and 2025, due to “a synchronization error between the Parking Assist Camera (PAC) and the infotainment system” in the reversing camera.
This isn’t the first time Polestar has recalled vehicles over rearview camera issues. In June 2024, the company issued an over-the-air (OTA) update to fix a similar problem affecting more than 26,000 Polestar 2 units. However, the current issue cannot be resolved remotel, requiring a physical software update.
Last week, the company delayed its 2024 annual report, moving the release from April to May 14. The company also plans to share its first-quarter results this month, but hasn’t given a specific date yet.
Polestar’s stock has dropped over 18% in the past year and is now trading at $1.06—just above Nasdaq’s minimum listing price of $1.00.
