Polestar has a bold plan — get better at selling cars

Polestar manufactures the Polestar 3 at a plant in South Carolina He warned last year Any ban on sales “would lead to the cessation of the operations of a legally regulated US company with significant US investments.”

“The U.S. is an important market for us,” Kim Palmer, Polestar’s head of public relations, tells WIRED. “We are in advanced stages of adapting our future models to ensure they comply with regulations in terms of hardware, software and suppliers,” Palmer adds, suggesting specifications for software and other non-Chinese materials.

However, Locheller may have to ask the Trump administration for an exemption to sell its U.S.-manufactured vehicles in the United States. Trump Hate towards EVs It’s well known, but it’s not clear how broad electric car policy will be in America Influenced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

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

If this proves to be the case, it could be very difficult for Polestar to obtain an exemption. Perhaps this is why Lochseler emphasized in his presentation of the Polestar axis in France. Trademark dispute with Citroen – the company claimed ownership The Polestar logo was very similar to his own– Polestar was previously banned from selling in the French market.

However, there is a potential snag. Prospective Polestar buyers are not yet eligible for electric vehicle subsidies in France. “Polestar is not on the list of companies approved by France to be eligible for its environmental bonuses,” says Wells. “That doesn’t mean they won’t be able to join it in the future, but if they can’t qualify for the scheme, they will have an incentive problem.”

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

“There are a lot of things that need to change, starting with sales and distribution,” Lochschiller said. “I call it from display to active selling. The company has done a good job of setting up the direct-to-consumer baseline, and now the main task is to make sure active selling through retail partners improves.” Hence, more showrooms, less reliance on online sales – old school thinking.

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

“By expanding dealer sales, Polestar can reach more customers, thereby increasing overall sales volume,” Stephanie Valdez Streety, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive, publisher of Kelley Blue Book Vehicle Evaluation, told WIRED. “Customers are more likely to invest in a brand they can interact with and rely on,” she says.

Wells agrees: “Polestar, under new leadership, will finally focus on being better at retail, and being better at bringing in revenue. They’re going back to the traditional (car) sales model and presenting themselves to consumers in a less exotic way.”

Wells says Lochschiller instills 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 vehicles are available in 27 countries. Production of the Polestar 4 will begin in South Korea in the second half of 2025. The Polestar 5, a GT rival to the Porsche Taycan, is scheduled to go on sale later this year and is based on the brand. The first dedicated EV architecture. Streety says the proposed Polestar 7 could do well in the United States. “Developing a vehicle in the premium compact SUV segment is a smart move,” she says.

With breakeven still at least two years away, Polestar will likely need additional financing to reach profitability. But Polestar – which is reliant on support from its eventual Chinese owner – may not have two years to go, as Wells claims. “The Chinese electric car market is booming, but there is a lot of competition, with significant price cuts. The risk for Polestar is that their financial support may not continue. Polestar may become too wasteful for my generation. Market conditions are moving faster than the company’s strategic plans .