Familiarity breeds content as Polestar progresses in EV marketplace

A digitally-led Scandinavian brand that’s best known for tuning up Volvos, has no dealerships and wants to interact with all its customers via a mobile app might not seem like one that would resonate well with the fleet industry, but factor in the words “electric car” and Polestar’s success with corporates makes more sense.

Having launched in 2020, the Polestar 2 – currently the brand’s only model – has exceeded all expectations. Registrations have grown from 850 in the first year to more than 4,000 during a tumultuous 2021. This year, Polestar is expecting to deliver around 7,500 2s and thinks it could do a lot more.

Where are these sales coming from? Well, 75% of Polestar 2 customers are company car drivers.

Attracted by its simplicity, performance and exclusivity, the car, which was initially designed as a Volvo concept, has helped Polestar to eclipse the likes of Alfa Romeo, DS and Subaru in the annual registrations rankings and puts it on track to become a key player in the premium electric car segment.

Polestar head of sales Matt Hawkins (pictured) says: “A lot of people have been hesitant about switching because a lot of electric vehicles (EVs) on the market have been built deliberately to be very different to their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts. With the Polestar 2, the car was always built to be an EV, but it still looks and feels as you’d expect. If you’ve come out of a traditional diesel or petrol saloon and get into a Polestar, it doesn’t feel other worldly, it’s still got a proper door handle, you’ve still got a gear selector that sits in the middle of the centre console, it’s still got an instrument binnacle. It feels very familiar as a car.”

These attributes, along with strong residuals and competitive running costs, enabled the Polestar 2 to score the Best Zero Emission Car title at the 2021 Fleet News Awards.

The car’s range of up to 299 miles, combined with its rapid charging speeds and smart Android-based infotainment system, has won over drivers, despite costing £50,000.