After experiencing the "darkest" first quarter, the overall operating situation of Jixing Automobile has rebounded in the second quarter.
Recently, Polestar Automotive (NASDAQ: PSNY) announced its preliminary unaudited financial and operational results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. Overall, although the main financial indicators of Jixing Automobile have deteriorated compared to last year, there has been a significant rebound compared to the first quarter of this year.
According to the financial report, in the second quarter of 2024, Polestar Motors' revenue was $575 million, with 13150 vehicles delivered, an increase of 82% compared to the previous quarter. With the rebound in sales in the second quarter, the gross profit margin of Jixing Automobile has almost turned positive, at -0.7%. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, the inventory turnover rate has also increased by 30%, which has driven the reduction of working capital and had a positive impact on cash flow.
In the first half of this year, the operating revenue of Jixing Automobile was 918 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 26%. Jixing Automobile explained that this was mainly due to the decline in global car sales and the increase in market discounts due to fierce competition; The operating loss was $466 million, a decrease of 6% compared to nearly $500 million in the same period last year. The cost management measures of Polestar Motors partially offset the negative impact of the decline in revenue.
In addition, Polestar Motors announced that it received up to $300 million in additional external financing in August of this year.
As a result, the stock price of Jixing Automobile has risen by over 10% continuously in the past two trading days, with a cumulative increase of over 28%. As of the close of August 30th Eastern Time, the stock price of Jixing Automobile was reported at $1.22, with a total market value of $2.6 billion.
On the day before the release of the second quarter financial report, Jixing Automobile also underwent a "change of leadership". Starting from October 1st this year, Thomas Ingenlath, who has been the CEO of Polaris since its independence in 2017, will resign, and Michael Lohscheller will take over as CEO of Polaris.
Unlike Thomas Ingalls, who came from a designer background, Michael Losscheller, the new CEO of Polestar Motors, has extensive experience in the automotive industry. He was previously the CFO of Mitsubishi Motors and Volkswagen Group's US subsidiaries. In 2012, he joined Opel and was responsible for financial management, and was promoted to CEO five years later. Subsequently, he was appointed as the global CEO of VinFast, a new force in Vietnamese car manufacturing. Seven months later, he switched to Nikola, an American electric heavy-duty truck company, as President and CEO.
Previously, Polestar Motors announced the departure of its design director Maximilian Missoni, who will be replaced by Audi's exterior design director Philipp Rmers.
In the Chinese market, Jixing Automobile also recently welcomed a new management team. Qinpei Ji, the Chief Operating Officer of Polestar Technology with 12 years of work experience at Volvo, will be responsible for overall Polestar sales, channel development, and marketing business segments.
Regarding this personnel change, Winfried Valland, the incoming chairman of Polestar Motors, stated that Polestar Motors has gone through the start-up stage and with the enrichment of its product line, Michael Losscheller will lead Polestar into the next phase.