Electric-Performance Brand Polestar to Open 15 New U.S. Retail Showrooms in 2021

author: Eric Walz   

Polestar, the new dedicated electric-performance car brand owned by Volvo Cars and its parent company Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely), announced that it's expanding its retail presence across the United States with plans to open new retail showrooms in 15 cities by the end of 2021.

Like Tesla's direct to consumer sales model, Polestar will not have a traditional network of dealerships. So the retail locations called "Polestar Spaces" will serve as showrooms where customers can learn more about the brand and the Polestar 2, the company's first mass-market performance EV.

Polestar said it plans to use its retail network to sell about 50,000 electric vehicles a year by 2023.

In the first half of 2021, Polestar will open new Polestar Spaces in Austin, Texas, Boston, Denver, Seattle, South Florida and Washington D.C. The company said it will partner with established retailer groups in order to best represent the brand in each location for sales and service.

The first of the new retail Spaces will open by early spring in Austin, Texas, Boston and Denver. Polestar said it will share more information about the Spaces in Washington D.C., Seattle and Florida in the upcoming months. 

In the latter half of 2021, Polestar anticipates it will open additional showrooms in Atlanta, Central and South New Jersey, Connecticut, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Orange County, Calif.

The first Polestar Spaces opened in New York City and California in 2020. 

"In 2019 we stated our goal of servicing 85% of the addressable EV market within a year of the Polestar 2 launch," said Gregor Hembrough, Head of Polestar in North America. "With these 2021 appointments, we will accomplish that and more- especially with our free pickup and delivery servicing within 150 miles of a brick-and-mortar Polestar location."   

The Polestar 2 fastback.

Polestar Spaces are designed to give customers the opportunity to experience the brand in-person without the high pressure environment of traditional automotive dealerships, which many car buyers find stressful.

Instead the Polestar Spaces are being staffed by non-commissioned "Polestar Specialists" to answer any questions customers may have about the Polestar 2 in a pressure-free environment.

The company said the Polestar Spaces will feature a minimalist Scandinavian design that reflects the ethos of the electric brand. 

Test drives for the Polestar 2 can be arranged onsite at a Polestar Space or at home by scheduling an appointment at Polestar.com/test-drive. Orders can be placed online at Polestar.com.

Polestar is competing with Tesla and other EV startups like Lucid Motors with its fully-electric Polestar 2 EV. The 5-door fastback is more affordable than the Model S with a starting price of $59,900 in the U.S.

It's also being positioned as a direct competitor to Tesla's mass-market Model 3. It's priced competitively with the Tesla Model 3 Performance version, which starts at $55,590 in the U.S. 

Polestar says the EV will offer sportscar-like performance. The Polestar 2 is rated at more than 400 horsepower, and can go from zero to 60 mph in about five seconds. The EV features an all-wheel drive powertrain and 78 kWh battery pack with a WLTP range of 292 miles (470 km). 

The Polestar 2 is also the world's first vehicle to come with Google's Android Automotive OS built in, so drivers do not need to sync their smartphones to use popular Google services such as Maps, Play and Google's voice-powered Assistant. Polestar owners can also download a number of third-party apps right to the vehicle. 

The Polestar 2 is being built at Geely's factory in Luqiao, China.

In Oct 2020, the Polestar 2 placed first in the Luxury category for the annual German Car of the Year (GCOTY) awards. 

Polestar launched its first vehicle the Polestar 1 in 2017. The Polestar 1 is a limited edition, 600 horsepower hybrid EV supercar costing $155,000. The vehicle served as a platform for Polestar to show off its innovative technology. 

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.