Dealer groups Lookers and Waylands Automotive will open new Polestar Spaces this year, as the electric Swedish performance brand looks to considerably increase its UK footprint.
The company told Car Dealer in August 2022 it was looking to double its UK representation from three to six sites in 12 months.
Now, Lookers and Waylands Automotive are the first dealer groups to be revealed in the plans.
Lookers will turn a former Argos store in Silverburn shopping centre in Glasgow to a new Polestar Space, while Waylands will open a Space in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol.
Polestar already has Spaces in Westfield London, Solihull and Manchester, and opened a new site in Battersea as well as a new HQ at Bicester Heritage late last year.
It operates an agency model in the UK, with the transaction handled by the manufacturer while the dealer is responsible for customer service and operating the ‘Space’.
Revealing the news to Car Dealer, head of Polestar UK Jonathan Goodman said: ‘I’m hugely proud of the part that our retail partners have played, because if you stop and think about what we’re asking them to do, it’s something that’s anathema to them.
‘We’re asking them to open a showroom, employ the people and get them geared up to answering customers’ questions and giving excellent customer service, without getting the customer to sign on the dotted line.
‘We’ve got some great partners already and others who are coming on board.
‘They get the brand; they understand about giving great customer service – customers aren’t judged when they walk into a Space. They have their questions answered.
‘This makes a huge difference to the environment and is coherent with what we’re trying to do with the brand.’
Asked if operating Spaces in shopping centres when consumer footfall is reduced due to the current cost-of-living crisis was a concern, Goodman said: ‘We don’t just go into any shopping centre – it depends on what the environment is and whether it’s right.
‘We do a lot of retail analysis; our people working in our retail team are from high street retail – they’re not from automotive.’
But Goodman did say the firm wasn’t ‘averse’ to opening ‘destination’ facilities that have a more traditional, dealership feel and aren’t located in shopping centres.
However, at such a site, the customer would always be transacting with Polestar and the retailer would deliver the customer experience.
When asked how large dealer groups are embracing a different method of selling cars to customers, Goodman said ‘they are making good money’.
‘We give the retailers the volume expectation we expect to deliver in the year to enable them to plan that business, but the onus is on us to deliver those volumes because we are the ones selling to the customer.
‘What it means is that they have to commit to the marketing activity, to the running of the Space, to delivering test drives, handing over cars to customers at their homes, and delivering exemplary customer service.
‘The quality of the delivery they’re doing for us is absolutely fantastic, but again, the onus is on us to deliver the volumes, and I am genuinely looking with huge optimism at 2023.
‘I see the order bank we’ve got, there’s momentum behind the brand, there’s the increased visibility of the Spaces, there are more cars on the road and we’ve got Polestar 3 arriving later this year.
‘These are massively exciting times for the brand and our retail partners – they’re going to make good money.’
Goodman was speaking after Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders data showed the company sold 7,345 Polestar 2s last year, ranking it in seventh place in the top 10 chart of best-selling EVs in 2022 and placing the car ahead of the BMW i4 and Audi Q4 e-tron.
Jonathan Goodman will be appearing on a special manufacturers panel at this year’s Car Dealer Live conference – the future of the car dealer. Attendees will hear talks from leading car dealers, Google and Auto Trader among others. Find out the full event details and book tickets.