The shakeout in the global electric-vehicle industry is picking up speed.

Chinese automaker Geely’s (GEELY.UL) move on Thursday to take over funding of struggling EV maker Polestar from Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST), opens new tab is the latest consolidation among EV brands since Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O), opens new tab historic financial surge in the early 2020s.

Tesla rode cheap capital, technological breakthroughs and Elon Musk’s outsized persona to a $1-trillion valuation – but only after years of heavy spending before turning a profit. Now legacy automakers, startups and investors that bet more than $1.2 trillion on EVs face increasingly tough decisions to cut losses.

Geely owns a majority stake in Volvo, which has operated Polestar as an offshoot luxury EV brand with similar styling.
The struggles of Polestar and other smaller players underscore the massive expense of developing EVs, which favor deep-pocketed companies willing and able withstand sustained financial bleeding. A global EV-demand slowdown could now weed out weaker players or force a consolidation wave.

[It’s all lookin’ kinda shaky there… ~ Beege]