The first road-legal example of the all-new Polestar 1 coupe just rolled off the assembly line as the new company prepares to sell its first standalone model. Polestar is a new automaker that will sell the 600-horsepower hybrid Polestar 1 coupe and Telsa Model 3-rivalling Polestar 2 electric sedan. Whenever an automaker launches a new brand, it must make a decision on where those cars will be sold. Polestar plans to have its own standalone showrooms called Polestar Spaces, the first of which is opening in Oslo, Norway.
Oslo will be the home of Polestar's first European showroom, located inside a historic 1900s building located in the city center. Unlike a traditional dealership, Polestar Spaces will employ Polestar Specialists, who will act as brand ambassadors on a non-commission basis. Test drives can be conducted at the showroom but the delivery of the car takes place at the home or office. These Spaces also won't keep any cars in inventory, so customers won't be deterred from ordering their personalized configuration.
Polestar has released the first images of the Oslo Space and it looks more like an art gallery than a car dealership. The building has been styled to combine minimalist design with seamless digital interactivity and the result looks fantastic. Customers can order their car via the Polestar app or website but why wouldn't you want to come to this gorgeous space to have a Polestar Specialist help you configure your order?
"The Polestar Space is our way of changing the face of automotive retail," says Jonathan Goodman, Chief Operations Officer at Polestar. "With no salesmen and no vehicles on the forecourt, there is no hard sell, no requirement to shift stock and an entirely customer-focused journey. Consumers will define how much they interact with the exhibits and Polestar Specialists tailoring their experience to their exact needs, not the brand's. Once they have found the perfect specification, seamless digital interactivity places the vehicle in the customer's app, ready to be ordered when it suits them. We will put the fun back into buying a car!"
"The Space in Oslo is extremely special. The location is perfect, right at the heart of where people shop and relax, and the way this modern retail experience sits inside a historic building really reinforces our belief that great design is timeless. Performance for us isn't just about great driving dynamics, it is also about the experience customers have choosing their perfect Polestar and the excitement of living with it every day, said Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar.
The Oslo Space officially opens to the public on October 25, 2019, and Polestar plans to have 60 locations globally by 2020. Polestar hasn't announced when or where the first US Space will open but we expect to hear an announcement soon.