The new boss of Polestar has hailed the “renaissance” of traditional dealerships as a factor in the brand’s dramatic revenue and sales growth in recent months.
Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car event in London, Michael Lohscheller said that Polestar’s transitioning away from an agency sales model to a more traditional retail structure was instrumental in it achieving an 84% growth in revenue and a 76% sales uptick in the first quarter of 2025.
Lohscheller, who announced the shift away from agency shortly after taking the CEO job last September, said: “What I didn't like was the direct-to-consumer approach. People were displaying cars but not selling.
“And what we introduced, and I would say quite successfully, is what I describe as the ‘renaissance of dealers’ – a little bit going back to basics. We’re going to a dealer model, a retailer model, where customers can come look at the cars, test drive them and have all the information about technology and financial offers - and that's what we try to roll out in all markets.”
Nonetheless, Polestar still plans to operate a small dealership network in the UK, comprised of around 17 or 18 sites – all alongside showrooms operated by sibling company Volvo. This is an approach in line wit Polestar's asset-light operating model.
“We won’t go to a very large numbers, but we look for high-performing retailers, and then of course the financial situation must be interesting for them and for us," said Lohscheller.
“We won’t build another massive network, which obviously could then lead to a financial burden for everybody involved.”
While he celebrated the adoption of a physical sales model as instrumental to the company’s growth, Lohscheller did also acknowledge that the tripling in size of Polestar’s model line-up as a key contributor.
“Last year, we had one product: the Polestar 2. Now we have two additional products: Polestar 3, a really sporty SUV, and then also the Polestar 4. That obviously helps if you have more products to pick up.”
Lohscheller also said that while Polestar has run “targeted campaigns” aimed at attracting would-be Tesla buyers amid widespread criticism of CEO Elon Musk’s political acitivities, this was “normal business” for a car company and “not the main reason for growth”.
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