Polestar has a bold plan – Improve car sales

Polestar makes the Polestar 3 in a factory in South Carolina, and last year he warned that any sales ban “stops the operations of a legally organized American company with substantial US investments.”

“The US is an important market for us,” Kim Palmer, Polestar’s head of PR, tells WIRED. Suggesting the specification of non-Chinese software and other materials, Palmer adds: “We are in advanced stages of adapting our future models to ensure that they comply with the regulation in terms of hardware, software and suppliers.”

However, Lohscheller may have to ask the Trump administration for a waiver to sell its cars made in the United States. Of Trump antipathy towards the EV it is well known, but it is not clear how far America’s EV policy will be influenced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

“It’s an unusual conflict of interest to see the CEO of Tesla in any way involved with EV policy for the entire country,” said Peter Wells, business professor and director of the Center for Automotive Industry Research at Cardiff University in Wales, United Kingdom. “There is huge potential (for Musk) to rewrite the rules to suit Tesla’s best interests.”

If this is the case, it could be very hard for Polestar to get a waiver. Perhaps that is why, in his presentation, Lohscheller underlined Polestar’s pivot to France. A trademark dispute with Citroen – the company said Polestar’s logo was too similar to his own— previously prevented Polestar from selling on the French market.

However, there is a potential snafu. Prospective Polestar buyers also do not qualify for France’s EV subsidy. “Polestar is not on the list of companies that have been approved by France to qualify for their ecological bonus,” says Wells. “It doesn’t mean they can’t be on it in the future, but if they can’t qualify for that scheme, they have an incentive problem.”

Lochscheller said that 2024 had been a transition year for Polestar, and that now the company would return to a more traditional dealership-based sales model.

“Many things have to change,” said Lochscheller, “starting with sales and distribution. I call it from the exhibition to the active sale. The company has done a good job in establishing the basic base directed to the consumer, now the key task is to ensure that active sales through sales partners are better. More showrooms, therefore, and less dependence on online sales – old school thinking.

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

“By expanding dealership sales, Polestar can reach more customers, thereby increasing overall sales volume,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry analysis for Cox Automotive, publisher of vehicle evaluator Kelley Blue Book, he tells WIRED. “Customers are more likely to invest in a brand they can interact with and trust,” he says.

Wells agreed: “Polestar, under new leadership, is now finally to focus on being better in retail, and being better at bringing in revenue. They are returning to the traditional sales model (automotive) and presenting themselves to consumers in a less exotic way.”

Lochscheller, Wells says, is instilling 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 the Polestar 4 will begin in South Korea in the second half of 2025. Polestar 5, a Porsche Taycan-rivaling GT, should go on sale later this year and is built on the brand’s brand. first tailor-made EV architecture. The proposed Polestar 7 could do well in the US, says Streaty. “Developing a vehicle in the premium compact SUV segment is a smart move,” he says.

With break-even still at least two years away, Polestar will likely need additional funding to see profitability. But Polestar – depending on the support of its last Chinese owner – may not have two years, says Wells. “The Chinese EV market is booming, but there is a lot of competition, with a rampant price cut. The risk for Polestar is that its financial support may not last. Polestar could become an extravagance too far for Geely. And market conditions move faster than the company’s strategic plans”.