(Yicai) July 30 -- Despite its monthly sales in China plunging to single digits, Polestar Automotive will continue selling in the Chinese market, according to an insider from the electric vehicle brand owned by Volvo Cars and the Swedish auto giant's Chinese parent firm Geely Automobile Holdings.

Polestar will keep selling EVs in China but shift its sales model, with business adjustments expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year, Yicai learned from the company insider.

Polestar's sales have been disastrous this year. The EV brand sold only six cars in June and one in March for a total of just 70 units in the whole first half of the year, according to the latest automotive retail sales data. Last year, it sold 1,864 units.

Polestar's operations in China are almost at a standstill, with only one directly operated offline store left in Shanghai, the insider told Yicai. The company's online car-purchasing site has been closed, and test drive services can only be booked by phone.

In April, Polestar announced it had signed a deal with technology firm Xingji Meizu Group, which is also owned by Geely Auto, to terminate their joint venture Polestar Times Technology Nanjing and transfer the distribution rights to Polestar.

Established in June 2023, Polestar Technology was tasked with strengthening Polestar's localized operational capabilities in China. However, the JV failed to achieve its goal, given the extremely poor sales in the country.

In contrast, Polestar's global sales have been improving, surging 51 percent to 30,300 units in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier. Second-quarter sales jumped 38 percent to 18,000 units.

Pressure on Polestar's financial situation remains high. Between 2020 and 2024, the company's cumulative net loss exceeded USD5.1 billion, including USD2 billion last year alone. As of Dec. 31, Polestar's total assets neared USD4.1 billion, with USD7.4 billion in liabilities.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione