Polestar produces the Polestar 3 at a plant in South Carolina and last year he warned that any sales ban “shuts down the operations of a legally organized U.S. company with significant U.S. investments.”
“The United States is an important market for us,” Kim Palmer, Polestar’s head of PR, tells WIRED. Suggesting specifying specifications for software and other materials sourced from outside China, Palmer adds: “We are in the advanced stages of customizing our future models to ensure they are compliant with hardware, software and vendor regulations.”
Nevertheless, Lohscheller may have to ask the Trump administration for permission to sell U.S.-made cars in the US. Trump aversion to electric vehicles is well known, but it is unclear what the scope of US electric vehicle policy will be under the influence of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
“It is an extraordinary conflict of interest to see Tesla’s CEO involved in any way with electric vehicle policy across the country,” 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] rewrite the rules to suit Tesla’s best interests.”
If this happens, it may be very arduous for Polestar to obtain dispensation. Perhaps that’s why Lohscheller emphasized Polestar’s return to France in his presentation. Trademark dispute with Citroen – the company claimed that The Polestar logo was too similar to their own—previously prevented Polestar from selling on the French market.
However, there is a potential snafu. Potential Polestar buyers are not yet eligible for the French EV subsidy. “Polestar is not on the list of companies that have been approved by France to qualify for the eco-bonus,” says Wells. “It doesn’t mean they couldn’t participate in the future, but if they can’t qualify for this program, they have a motivation problem.”
Lochscheller said 2024 was a transition year for Polestar and that the company will now return to a more customary dealer-based sales model.
“Many things need to change,” Lochscheller said, “starting with sales and distribution. I call it from showing to actively selling. The company has done a good job establishing a baseline of direct-to-consumer sales, now the key task is to ensure that active sales through retail partners improve. More showrooms and less reliance on online sales – old school thinking.
“Our [retail] the company’s footprint is growing,” Lochscheller said, citing the fact that there are now 25 Polestar showrooms in Sweden, up 20 from 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 Streaty, director of industry analysis at Cox Automotive, publisher of vehicle appraiser Kelley Blue Book, tells WIRED. “Customers are more likely to invest in a brand they can interact with and rely on,” he says.
Wells agrees: “Polestar under new management will finally focus on being better at retail and growing revenues. They are going back to the traditional approach [automotive] sales model and presenting itself to consumers in a less exotic way.”
Wells says Lochscheller 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 cars 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 built on the brand’s first dedicated electric vehicle architecture. Streaty says the proposed Polestar 7 could do well in the US. “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 financing to ensure profitability. But the Polestar – dependent on the support of its eventual Chinese owner – may not be two years senior, Wells says. “China’s electric vehicle market is booming, but there is intense competition and sharp price cuts. The risk for Polestar is that their financial support may not be enough. The Polestar could prove to be an extravaganza for Geely. Market conditions are changing faster than the company’s strategic plans.”