Polestar Visits Westport

Polestar Test Drive Event

A picture-perfect Indian summer day set the scene for an EV Club event sponsored by Manhattan Motors, the regional dealer for the new Polestar brand. Polestar is Volvo’s racing brand but has now been spun off as a standalone brand selling high-end EVs.

Polestar vehicles are manufactured by Geely, the parent company of Volvo. There are two Polestar vehicles, the Polestar 1, a plug-in hybrid, and the Polestar 2, a battery-electric vehicle with 233 miles of range and a 0 to 60 MPH sprint in under 5 seconds.

The Polestar 2 starts at about $60,000 with a performance version that sneaks past $70,000. The Polestar 1 starts at $155,000 and there are a few interior options that can add another $5000.

Both of the Polestar models have all-wheel drive. Delivery of these vehicles will begin within a month.

The Polestar distribution model is different than a traditional automobile company and different from Tesla. It sells through dealerships but only has 4 licensed dealerships in the country, 2 in the San Francisco metro area, 1 in Los Angeles, and one in New York City. The company has a “concierge”-style service model and the vehicle is delivered to the consumer’s residence. Unlike with Tesla, they can deliver a vehicle to a CT address because they are a dealership, meaning that Manhattan Motors buys the vehicles from Polestar.  For servicing, Polestar’s sister company is brought into the process. Volvo dealers will be able to service these vehicles. The concierge model extends to service. The car is retrieved from and returned to the customer, and a loaner is provided.

Polestar advises that there will be a subsequent version of the Polestar 2 with a smaller battery pack and without all-wheel drive at a lower price point. No ETA at this time.