'We see huge potential': Slow sales in 2024 won't stop this electric car brand forging ahead with big plans as stiff competition from Tesla, BYD, Xpeng, Deepal and Kia mounts

Despite a less-than-ideal 30 per cent sales decline last year, Sino-Swedish electric car brand Polestar isn't burying its head in the sand, according to Scott Maynard, Managing Director of the brand’s local operations.

Even as sister brands under the Geely umbrella, such as Zeekr, Volvo and Lotus, backflip on electric-only plans for more plug-in hybrids in response to softening EV demand, Polestar is staying true to its electric-only pledge.

In fact, Maynard believes there are much bigger and better things to come in 2025 and beyond as Polestar grows its retail footprint and expands its offerings in Australia’s electric SUV market.

“It wasn’t unexpected [the sales downturn], in truth. With the incoming product of Polestar 3 and 4, we knew that there were a lot of customers holding off on a Polestar purchase,” he said.

The brand has been carried by the Polestar 2 for three years since arriving in Australia, a mid-size electric sedan rivalling everything from the BMW i4 to the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal.

Then, at the back end of last year, Polestar added an additional member, the Polestar 4, a coupe-like SUV closer in style to the Tesla Model Y – Australia’s top-selling EV.

It clocked some 120 sales in December last year, far exceeding anything else in the brand’s catalogue, a feat which has Maynard anticipating strong returns in 2025.

“We see huge potential, particularly in Polestar 4,” he said.

Maynard stopped short of giving sales numbers projections for the brand in 2025 (last year Polestar sold 1713 cars), suggesting it was anyone’s guess with high interest rates and a challenging economic outlook.

“I’m not putting a number on it yet because I’m really keen to see how the first half of the year plays out,” said Maynard.

“Of course, we have to have internal planning numbers for budgets and that sort of thing, but I actually think the potential of those cars sits higher than we’re currently shooting.”

It's an underlying confidence that is certainly matched by the head office in Gothenburg, Sweden, which recently announced a five-step plan to get back to profitability in 2025.

Part of that plan involves growing the brand's global retail footprint by 75 per cent by 2026, increasing sales of carbon credits, expanding to new markets such as France and launching Polestar Energy – Polestar's charging network app.

They're moves that couldn't be made without the support of the brand's Chinese parent company, Geely Group, which also owns Zeekr, Smart, Volvo and Lotus, though all are operated independently in Australia.

Despite so many brands in Australia under Geely's ownership, Maynard is steadfast that Polestar is a unique brand competing in its own lane.

"We partner with Geely for investment, but we differentiate ourselves as a European brand with our heart and soul in Sweden.

"The brand is clearly drawing all of its design and inspiration from the design team based out of Sweden, and so we've got a pretty easy job to differentiate ourselves as a true, proper, luxury European brand."

Another major part of Polestar's plan is introducing the Polestar 7, a compact electric SUV with a lower price point.

“Polestar 7 is going to appeal to an Australian buyer, perhaps even more so than it does to Europe and some other markets,” said Maynard.

“It is very much a key car for us and will provide us with a really lovely entry point to the brand, so to have an SUV style entry point to the Polestar brand that is 100 per cent Polestar, I think will be a really important addition to the model range.”

Given the Polestar 5 GT — the brand’s first EV on its bespoke architecture — and the Polestar 6 roadster are expected to precede it, the Polestar 7 may not be in showrooms until closer to 2027.

It's a long time to wait for a brand which hasn’t seen the quick sales success of upstart Chinese and American rivals, but one thing is for certain, Polestar is here for the long haul.