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SINO-Swede EV maker Polestar has added its eighth Australian dealership – and first for South Australia – as it separates from its factory-backed sales origins and moves to cement its position as a franchised dealer network.

It is the first time since the brand launched in Australia in 2022 that it has boosted its retail presence.

Polestar Australia managing director Scott Maynard said that growing interest in the brand in Australia and the expansion of the product range meant it needed to be represented in more places and, talking to GoAutoNews Premium this week, said a ninth dealer would soon be added. “So we have turned to our retail partners,” he said.

“These are partners who have been prepared to invest in the brand with property, resources and people so it allows us now to reach a much broader audience.

“This is especially true in places like Adelaide, Perth and Hobart where we either had limited or no representation before. It’s an important step for us to be able to broaden the reach of the brand and get it in front of more people.”

Polestar started in Australia with OEM-owned and OEM-run showrooms – which the brand calls ‘spaces’.

“This was a really strong and necessary move to make sure that we curated the right image, that we’d set our CI (corporate image) standards, that we had a standard of practice and a way that we represent the vehicles that was 100 per cent in line with the brand,” Mr Maynard said.

“This brand image may have been a little bit different to some of the traditional retail methods or representations of product, but for us it was an important part of Polestar.

Scott Maynard

“With that done, however, and with the extent of expansion in product and the interest in the brand, we now see a need to have the brand represented in more places.”

Polestar has aligned its retail business in Australia with its sibling car-maker, Volvo, with many existing Volvo franchises also operating sales and service centres for Polestar.

Mr Maynard said it “works really nicely for us.”

“The retail partners that are now operating our space environments are, for the most part, Volvo retailers as well,” he said.

“So it’s a really nice tie-in that they already have our service representation and now they’re assisting us with our sales representation.

“The commonality in equipment and tooling makes good sense that we continue the strong relationship that we have with Volvo for service and technical support. “There’s no plans to change that. Both brands pride themselves on a clear distinction in design language, price point and target customers, so they each have a very distinctive brand image of their own. 

“Those in part can still be complementary, but we are still looking to have that degree of differentiation between the two areas of the showroom to match the differentiation in product. 

“So whilst they might complement because they have a premium stand, Polestar does have a direction all of its own, and an image and identity that is 100 per cent Polestar and quite different from that of Volvo.”

The latest Polestar franchise is Polestar Adelaide, operated by Solitaire Automotive Group in the city suburb of Parkside.

Solitaire’s managing director and CEO David Smoker said he was looking forward to adding Polestar to its portfolio of premium automotive brands. The showroom is at 46-52 Glen Osmond Rd in Parkside with test drives bookings available online through the Polestar Australia website.

Adelaide joins Chadstone, Port Melbourne, Artarmon, Alexandria, Penrith, Brisbane, and Perth in the Polestar Spaces network. The brand also has 13 service partners for maintenance and accessories.

By Neil Dowling

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