Polestar Has A Bold Plan – Get Better at Car Sales

Polestar manufactures the Polestar 3 at its South Carolina plant and warned last year Any sales ban would “suspend the operation of a lawfully organized US company with substantial US investment.”

“The US is an important market for us,” Kim Palmer, Polestar’s head of PR, tells WIRED. “We are in the advanced stages of adapting our future models to make sure they are compliant in terms of hardware, software and suppliers,” adds Palmer, who suggests specifying non-Chinese software and other materials.

Even so, Lohscheller may have to seek approval from the Trump administration to sell its US-made cars in the US. Trump’s Antipathy to EVs is well known, but it is not clear how much America’s EV policy will be Tesla was influenced by CEO Elon Musk.

“It’s an unusual conflict of interest to see the CEO of Tesla in any way connected to electric car policy for the entire country,” said Peter Wells, a business professor and director of the Center for Automotive Industry Studies at Cardiff University in the UK. “There’s a lot of potential (for Musk) to rewrite the rules in Tesla’s interests.”

If this is proven, it could be very difficult for Polestar to get a dispensation. Perhaps because of this, Lohscheller emphasized Polestar’s transformation into France in his presentation. Trademark dispute with Citroen – the company claimed The Polestar logo looked very similar to his own— previously prevented Polestar from being sold on the French market.

However, there is a potential snafu. Polestar buyers do not yet qualify for the French EV subsidy. “Polestar is not on the list of companies approved by France to receive environmental bonuses,” says Wells. “That’s not to say they can’t be in the future, but if they can’t fit into the scheme, they have an incentive problem.”

Lochscheller said 2024 is a transition year for Polestar, and now the company will return to a more traditional dealer-based sales model.

“Starting with sales and distribution, a lot has to change,” Lochscheller said. I call it demonstration to active selling. The company has done a good job of establishing a direct-to-consumer base line, now the key task is to make sure that active sales through retail partners improve.” More showrooms and less reliance on online sales – old school thinking.

“Our (retail) footprint is growing,” Lochscheller said, citing that there are now 25 Polestar showrooms in Sweden, up from 20 last year, and 20 showrooms in England, up from eight last year.

“By expanding dealer sales, Polestar can reach more customers and thereby increase overall sales volume,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive, publisher of the Kelley Blue Book vehicle estimator, tells WIRED. “Customers are more likely to invest in a brand they can relate to and trust,” he says.

Wells agrees: “Polestar, under new management, will finally focus on getting better at retail and getting better at driving revenue. They return to the traditional (car) sales model and introduce themselves to consumers. a less exotic way.

Lochscheller, Wells says, instilled in Polestar “a sense of conservatism, an attempt to cut costs, increase volumes, adopt a more traditional marketing strategy and generate enough revenue to survive.”

Polestar cars are available in 27 countries. Production of Polestar 4 will begin in the second half of 2025 in South Korea. The Polestar 5, a GT rival to the Porsche Taycan, will go on sale later this year and is based on the brand. first-order EV architecture. The proposed Polestar 7 could do well in the US, Streaty claims. “Developing a vehicle in the premium compact SUV segment is a smart move,” he said.

With at least two years to go, Polestar will need additional financing to reach profitability. But Polestar – relying on the support of its last Chinese owner – may not be around for two years, Wells argues. “China’s EV market is booming, but there is a lot of competition with prices falling sharply. The risk for Polestar is that their financial support may not last. Polestar could turn out to be an extreme extravagance for Geely. “Market conditions are moving faster than the company’s strategic plans.”