New chief for EV maker
Polestar has announced Michael Lohscheller will become its new chief executive officer from October 1 and is replacing Thomas Ingenlath, who recently resigned from the post.
Lohscheller, pictured, has years of expertise in the automotive industry and his previous roles have included being chief executive officer of Stellantis-owned carmaker Opel, Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast and electric truckmaker Nikola.
“I am honoured to join Polestar at such an exciting time in the company’s history,” he says.
“Polestar has already established itself as one of the most desirable and innovative brands in the electric vehicle space, and I look forward to working with the talented team to build on this strong foundation and accelerate our development.”
Winfried Vahland, Polestar’s incoming chairman, describes Lohscheller as the ideal leader to guide the marque after its “exceptional start-up phase” and now it has a broader model line-up.
“His deep industry knowledge, especially in driving operational excellence, developing a coherent product strategy and strengthening the global market presence will be instrumental in the next chapter of Polestar’s growth,” adds Vahland.
Ingenlath was chief executive officer since Polestar’s inception in 1996 and says he is proud of what the company achieved during his time in charge, creating an electric premium brand that puts performance and design at its core.
The leadership change marks a further shift away from Volvo Cars, which alongside China's Geely, was one of the co-founders and major financial backers of Polestar until this year, reports Reuters.
While two of Polestar’s cars, its models 2 and 3, are produced in Volvo Cars factories but its model 4 is made in a plant run by Geely and not based on Volvo’s platform.