- Gores Guggenheim (NASDAQ:GGPI) is the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set to merge with Polestar in the first half of 2022
- Polestar recently announced strong first-quarter sales, with more than 100% year-over-year (YOY) growth
- GGPI stock has been relatively unresponsive to the news, up less than 1% so far
Blank-check acquisition company Gores Guggenheim is in the green today on a promising Polestar investor presentation. Its electric vehicle (EV) merger partner announced record sales for fiscal Q1. Now GGPI stock is climbing slightly on the company’s promising numbers.
Polestar, set to merge with Gores Guggenheim via a SPAC merger in the first half of 2022, has experienced impressive growth over its lifespan. The Swedish EV maker sold 13,600 cars in Q1, more than double the prior-year period. Polestar also recently announced a partnership with car rental company Hertz (NASDAQ:HTZ). The EV startup has signed on to supply Hertz with up to 65,000 vehicles through 2027.
The news wasn’t all positive, however. Polestar also lowered its expected delivered vehicles in 2022 from 65,000 to roughly 50,000. The company has apparently experienced production slowdowns stemming from new Covid-19 lockdowns in China.
Polestar elaborated on its global supply-chain hiccups in a press release:
“The reduction for 2022 is 100% attributable to the lockdowns in China. Polestar […] continues to actively manage these ongoing supply chain challenges, as it did in 2021 when the company delivered approximately 29,000 vehicles. Through an implementation of a rapid response plan […] Polestar plans to recover some of the production loss it has suffered later in the year and remains confident it will deliver its targeted sales volumes for 2023 through 2025.”
GGPI Stock Climbs as Polestar Prospects Continue to Build Momentum
Polestar doesn’t expect current supply-chain issues to affect its long-term production goals. The company is still targeting 290,000 cars sold in 2025, some 10 times the number of EVs it sold in 2021. In the release, Polestar also announced it had expanded its global presence to 23 markets, up from 19 last year.
As of now, Polestar is one of the only global EV pure plays other than Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). It continues to exceed sales and production estimates as well. Polestar has quickly ramped up production, especially in comparison to glamorized EV startups like Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) and Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID). Still, GGPI stock has generally trended down this year, albeit alongside the greater stock market.
Polestar has currently released two out of its planned five EV models — the Polestar 1 and Polestar 2, respectively. Both vehicles have performed well critically and commercially, especially in the EV-heavy European market. Polestar also predicts its growth will accelerate even further upon the release of its SUV, the Polestar 3. The model is set to open for orders this October.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
