Polestar plans to tap seven new markets in 2025

Polestar initially aimed to be operational in at least 30 markets by the end of 2023, but at present, its cars are only available in 27 markets. The company still isn’t present in France, the EU’s second-largest EV market after Germany. It plans to change that fact in 2025 and is considering entering four more EU markets in the same year – Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland. Polestar wants to establish itself in Thailand and Brazil also in 2025.

Work is also underway to build a strong physical retail presence in existing markets, allowing customers to shop Polestar EVs through a traditional approach. Polestar is transitioning to a non-genuine agent model in Europe. The company has already confirmed the change for Sweden and Norway, with more markets to be added to the list in the second half of the year. On 13 June, Martin Ölund, Polestar’s Head of Sweden, announced that the company will add at least ten new physical retail locations in the country.

The addition of new markets and revision in retail strategy comes at a time when Polestar is consistently expanding its lineup with new models every year. The company has started selling the Polestar 4, and in its Q4 2023 earnings conference call, CEO Thomas Ingenlath said that the new EV’s sales are accelerating around the world. Currently, the mid-size SUV coupe is made at Geely Holdings’ SEA factory in Hangzhou Bay (Zhejiang), China. By the second half of 2025, a Renault plant in Busan, South Korea, will also start making it.

The Polestar 3, currently made at the Volvo Cars factory in Chengdu (Sichuan), China, will soon be built even at the Volvo Cars plant in Ridgeville (South Carolina), US. Ingenlath said that the additional production of the 3 and 4 (outside China) will be crucial steps to improve Polestar’s profitability in core markets such as the US and de-risking its business.

In 2025, a new electric four-door GT called ‘Polestar 5’ will enter production at another Geely Holdings factory, located in Chongqing, China. A new electric roadster called ‘Polestar 6’ will follow in 2026.

Polestar has been associated with Volvo Cars since 1996. Initially, it was a global performance and motorsport partner, and after years of deepening collaboration, in 2015, Volvo Car Group fully acquired it. In 2017, Volvo Car Group converted the performance car arm into a standalone brand, with the new marque’s first product, the Polestar 1, breaking cover later in the same year. The Polestar 2, a Tesla Model 3 rival, is currently the brand’s bread-and-butter model.

media.polestar.com, media.polestar.com (in Swedish)