Polestar boss lashes out saying he’s “sick and tired” of doom predictions

The local CEO of Polestar has declared himself “sick and tired” of speculation that the electric vehicle (EV) brand is doomed to go out of business.

Polestar Australia CEO Scott Maynard insists there will be “extraordinary” product announcements and updates in the coming months which will negate the doomsayers.

Established in 2017, the Swedish-Chinese brand is yet to break even, after having repeated financial injections and inspired negative headlines when it booked a $1 billion loss in the second quarter of 2025 – despite continuing to grow global sales.

As a result, financial media and analysts have questioned whether Polestar can convert that growth into long-term financial sustainability.

“I'm sick and tired of reading that exact sentence being written,” Maynard told carsales.

“I wish I could take you with me inside the design studio, inside Gothenburg [Polestar headquarters] and see just what's going on.

“It is absolutely all hands to the pumps inside Polestar, and we're working really hard to bring some amazing things to market.”

While recent product focus has been on the 2026 launch of the all-new Polestar 5 luxury flagship and the all-new Polestar 7 compact SUV due in 2028, Maynard confirmed there would be significant product actions to ensure Polestar maintains momentum during the 18-month gap between the two models.

That gap comes at a delicate time, as Polestar has just experienced its strongest sales year on record in 2025 – up 34 per cent globally (to a still modest 60,119) and 38.5 per cent locally (to 2373) to become the fastest growing premium brand in Australia.

However, strong delivery growth has yet to translate into profitability, underscoring the need to sustain momentum while managing costs and timelines.

The upcoming actions are believed to include making the BST high-performance sub-brand a permanent part of the line-up and more substantial-than-usual updates for the existing Polestar 2, 3 and 4 SUVs.

“We've got what it takes to see our way through the next period,” Maynard said.

“There's going to be some really extraordinary announcements that will come to us during the course of this year that will set out a track through the back part of 2026 and into 2027...”

Maynard’s confidence has been bolstered by a visit to the Polestar design studio in Gothenburg, Sweden, last September, which included viewing the all-important new 7 being developed by new design chief Philipp Roemers.

Roemers has made it clear that Polestar will present new concepts over the next 12-18 months that preview the evolving design direction.

“There’s a lot of work being done on the future of design for Polestar, as you’d expect, to ensure that the car remains contemporary and remains design-focused,” said Maynard.

“I wouldn’t say it was final or comprehensive, but we’ve been fortunate to see behind the curtain and understand the direction of it.”

For all his bullishness, Maynard is playing down any expectations that Polestar will maintain the same sort of sales growth in Australia it recorded in 2025.

The arrival of the Polestar 4, along with the establishment and expansion of a traditional dealer network, played a big role.

“We wouldn't expect to lodge the same sort of growth again in 2026,” Maynard said.

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