Thursday, August 12, 2021

Polestar confident that range will trump price in expanded lineup

Polestar, Volvo's electric performance car brand, on Thursday said it is bringing more variants of its 2022 Polestar 2 to the U.S. by the end of the year.

The pricetag for the single-motor vehicle will be $47,200, which includes a $1,300 destination charge. After various government tax credits, that price could go as low as $36,200 with the destination charge. The 2022 Polestar 2 will have a range of about 265 miles. But with an optional heat pump, the vehicle's range could be improved by 10 percent, Polestar said in a statement.

Polestar is also offering a dual-motor variant with 408 hp and a range of 249 miles -- up 16 miles over the 2021 model. The price will be $51,200 before tax credits, which includes the $1,300 destination charge

A spokesman said the brand now has 20 appointed U.S. dealers with plans to expand to 25 by the end of this year and 35 by the end of 2022.

In Europe, the longer-range Polestar 2 is expected to quickly become the brand’s top-seller despite having a higher price tag than the entry model.

Polestar executives predict that the variant will account for about 40 percent of all Polestar 2 sales in Europe.

One of Polestar’s key markets is Germany, where it now has seven Polestar spaces.

A Munich store opened in March but could only be visited by appointment until COVID-19 restrictions were rolled back in May.

Since then, the site has been getting 300 to 500 visitors a week, Polestar said, adding that is the approximate foot traffic it is seeing at all its retail sites in the country.

Awareness in the brand has doubled to 4 percent from 2 percent in Germany in the last year, but Polestar knows that level needs to improve.

A key is to boosting awareness is getting people into the Polestar 2 for a test drive, which the company says has led to a significantly higher conversion rate than the 9 percent that is common within the industry.



from Section Page News - Automotive News https://ift.tt/3lTIdfz

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