Having staged a soft launch a few weeks ago including press vehicle loans, Swedish-Chinese electric brand Polestar officially opened up on November 30.
Customers can put down $500 (refundable) to reserve “priority allocation”.
The company’s Australian full subsidiary operation has also detailed more of its customer roadshow test-drive program, which is there to tide people over until permanent Polestar brand stores proliferate across most States and Territories in 2022.
Like Tesla and Genesis, Polestar won’t use dealerships in a conventional sense.
It intends to further shake up the landscape with direct-to-consumer online sales supported by physical stores and test-drive centres in “cities around Australia”, but furthermore intends to tap into Volvo’s dealers for servicing needs.
The roadshow test drive events actually started in Sydney in mid-November and will be followed by events in Melbourne and the Gold Coast in December, and Brisbane in February 2022.
Temporary Polestar locations are slated to appear in various “iconic locations” such as Bondi Beach (Sydney) Queensbridge Square (Melbourne), Pacific Fair (Gold Coast), and King George Square (Brisbane).
Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin? To be confirmed, though the permanent store footprint is planned to go national next year with the likely exception of the Northern Territory.
Each will be supported by nearby test-drive facilities, Polestar says, with the company’s Australian head Samantha Johnson saying early signs were strong.
“The demand we’re seeing for Polestar 2 test drives Australia-wide has exceeded even our most ambitious estimates, which is testament to the growing interest in electric vehicles locally, and the need for greater consumer choice in the market,” Ms Johnson said.
“The roadshow will offer customers their first physical experience of the Polestar brand, both in the manner that the events are activated to the exacting standards found in our bespoke Polestar Spaces and Destinations globally, and, of course, in getting to know the outstanding Polestar 2.”
The brand expects the first of its Polestar Spaces – essentially retail-style showrooms, similar to those used by Genesis – to open in April 2022.
The Polestar’s simple three-variant line-up starts with the $59,900 Standard Range model with 64kWh battery, $64,900 for the Long Range with 78kWh battery, and $69,900 for the Long Range with two drive motors.
All of these prices are MSRP before on-road costs, but also before the EV rebates available in NSW and Victoria – both single-motor variants fall within the price threshold for them – and stamp duty reductions or waivers.
MORE: 2022 Polestar 2 price and specs
All come with free servicing and roadside assist for five years. As with Tesla, new features and system upgrades can and will be deployed via over-the-air updates.
Consumers can visit www.polestar.com/au/ to book a test drive.
MORE: Everything Polestar 2
MORE: 2022 Polestar 2 review
MORE: 2022 Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor review
