v3.26.1
Employee benefits
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2025
Employee Benefits [Abstract]  
Employee benefits
Note 8 - Employee benefits
The total employee benefits costs for the Group, including key management personnel (Group's Executive Management Team and managing directors), during the periods presented, were as follows:
For the year ended December 31,
202520242023
Wages, salaries, and other short-term employee benefits156,595 116,804 157,011 
Social security and other social benefits55,916 49,828 44,255 
Post-employment benefits29,398 26,948 29,523 
Share-based compensation9,149 9,841 4,867 
Termination benefits4,233 5,727 — 
Total employee benefits255,291 209,148 235,656 
Post-employment benefits primarily reflects those related to defined contribution plans for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, inclusive of costs related to the ITP 2. Expenses related to defined contribution plans amounted to $20,726, $19,888 and $21,125 for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, Polestar registered $31,268 of employee expenses as part of the restructuring initiatives that impacted the R&D and Procurement departments in the UK, China and Sweden, as well as manufacturing in China. For more information, see Note 7 - Other operating income and expense.
The following table discloses total costs related to employee benefits for the Group's Executive Management Team and managing directors at the Group's sales units:
For the year ended December 31,
202520242023
Termination benefits4,2325,727—
Short-term employee benefits8,7945,7116,205
Share-based compensation1,4361,4301,829
Post-employment benefits712656907
Total benefits to key management personnel only15,17413,5248,941
The Executive Management Team ("EMT") consists of the Group's CEO, CFO and COO for each reporting period and has the authority and responsibility for planning, directing, and controlling the Polestar Group's activities. The CEO has the ultimate authority for approval of actions proposed by each member of the EMT.
The average monthly number of persons employed by the Group (including key management personnel) for the periods presented were as follows:
For the year ended December 31,
202520242023
Sales and marketing736707796
R&D, design, and digital274656756
Manufacturing171819
Management, administration, and others521550651
Total average monthly headcount of the Group1,5481,9312,222