Volvo-affiliated electrified vehicle upstart Polestar envisions small, low-cost Am- erican stores instead of multimillion-dollar Taj Mahal showrooms with expansive service centers.
It’s all about profitability, the new brand’s North American chief, Gregor Hembrough, told Automotive News ahead of the global unveiling of the battery-electric Polestar 2 — the brand’s second nameplate — on Wednesday, Feb. 27.
A small, no-inventory, no-service- center model will give retailers a “very low entry ticket” to having a Polestar franchise, Hembrough said.
“We are not asking for retailers to build a $4 million-to-$5 million infrastructure,” he said.
“We are anticipating it would be somewhere around $600,000 to $900,000 to become a Polestar brand dealer.”
Polestar, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, is the electrified performance brand of Volvo Cars, owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.
The Polestar 2, billed as a Tesla Model 3 competitor, is to arrive in the U.S. in early summer 2020, Hembrough said. It will deliver 400 hp and an expected battery range of up to 300 miles. The sedan is based on Polestar’s compact modular platform, which underpins the Volvo XC40 crossover.
Polestar is said to have at least a half-dozen battery-electric models planned over the next decade. According to a source familiar with the plans, in addition to Polestar 2 and Polestar 1, a $155,000 limited-run hybrid sedan expected to arrive this year, the automaker is considering an SUV, a sporty crossover and a roadster.
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