Polestar Has a Bold Plan—Get Better at Selling Cars

Polestar manufactures Polestar 3 at a factory in South Carolina and warned last year Any sales ban “stops the operations of a legally organized US company with substantial US investment.”

“The U.S. is an important market for us,” Kim Palmer, Polestar’s head of PR, told Wired. Suggesting the specification of non-Chinese software and other materials, Palmer added: “We are at an advanced stage to adapt our future models so that they comply with the rules in terms of hardware, software and suppliers.”

Even so, Lohscheller may have to take action from the Trump administration to sell its US-made cars in the US. Trump’s Aversion to EVs Well known, but it’s not clear how far America’s EV policy will go Influenced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

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

If this proves to be the case, Polestar may find it difficult to get allocations. Perhaps for that reason, Lohscheller emphasized Polestar’s pivot to France in his presentation. A trademark dispute with Citroen – claims the company The Polestar logo was his own—previously prevented polyester from being sold on the French market.

However, there is a potential snafu. Polestar buyers are not yet eligible for France’s EV subsidies. “Polestar is not on the list of companies approved by France to qualify for their environmental bonus,” Wells said “That 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 2024 was a transition year for Polestar and now the company will return to a more traditional dealership-based sales model.

“There’s a lot that needs to change,” Lochscheller said, “from sales and distribution. I call it from showing to active selling. The company has done a good job setting up the direct-to-consumer baseline, now the core work is being confirmed. Active selling through retail partners is improving.” Then more showrooms, and less reliance on online sales—old-school thinking.

“Ours [retail] The footprint is growing,” said Lochscheller, adding 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 dealership sales, Polestar can reach more customers, thereby increasing overall sales volume,” Stephanie Valdez Stretti, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive, publisher of Kelly Blue Book Vehicle Valuer, told Wired. “Customers are more likely to invest in a brand they can relate to and rely on,” she says.

Wells agreed: “Under new leadership Polestar will now focus on getting better at retail, and on getting better at revenue generation. They are going back to traditional. [automotive] Sales models and presenting themselves to consumers in a less exotic way.

Lochscheller, Wells said, has “a sense of conservatism, trying to cut costs, increase volume, adopt more traditional marketing strategies 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. The Polster 5, a Porsche Tectonic-rivaling GT, goes on sale later this year and is built on the brand. First preferred EV architecture. The proposed Polestar 7 could do well in the US, claims Streaty. “Making a car 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 financing to see it through to profitability. But the Polestar – dependent on the support of its ultimate Chinese owner – may not last two years, Wells claimed. “The Chinese EV market is growing, but there is a lot of competition, with massive price cuts. The risk for Polestar is that their financial support may not last. Polestar may become too unwieldy for Geely. Market conditions are moving faster than the company’s strategic plans.”