Whether of main, or sub-brand interest to Volvo, is Polestar trying hard enough?
When a brand as strong as Volvo makes waves about a stellar offshoot, considers Iain Robertson, it needs to be certain that it dots every ‘i’ and crosses every ‘t’ on its way to market and allowing any slippage is a guarantee of losing consumer intrigue, when it ought to be fostering it at every stage in the process.
In the good old days, prior to General Motors destroying Saab, Sweden was an area to which style and engineering conscious buyers were drawn inexorably, with Volvo being central to their focus. The products of both firms were never regarded as common consumer modes of transport but managed to appeal to a loftier, more professional audience. In fact, their reputations grew and were hung on the earnest seriousness of their customer bases. In many respects, Volvo, in particular, was more like a Scandinavian equivalent of Jaguar Cars, albeit lacking in the stitched hide, woodtrim and sporting aspirations. It is of little wonder to me that, when Ford Motor Company went on its costly acquisition trail during the late-1980s that Volvo was perceived as such and ultimately partnered Jaguar in the US giant’s Premier Brands set-up. It had the potential to be an automotive marriage made in heaven, had Ford concentrated on the relationships and not perceived that an arm’s-length management style was more suited to them. Myopia led to failure.
In the meantime, Polestar developed initially as a non-associated tuning operation, producing Volvo cars that could win European Touring Car Championships, even if the resultant business spread was almost strictly tied to Sweden. When Polestar became an affiliated sideshow to the main brand, its original managers could scarcely believe their good fortune, even with the narrow nature of the niche. However, the Chinese takeover of Volvo would change all of that ‘cottage’ industry for good. Having been a specialist brand within a brand, Polestar was set for grander things and bringing in styling boss, Thomas Ingenlath, as CEO for the sub-brand may have seemed like misplaced loyalties but also hinted at the potential for an intelligent and intense new broom to sweep clean.
Polestar’s focus was shifted considerably from the excitement and glamour of motor racing towards electrification and a brave new world in which Volvo would play an instrumental role thanks to its internal links with the EU arising from the most extensive and unprecedented history of crash test results and aspiration to lead an European car movement by providing inspiration to governmentally-based industry regulators. It was an important but potentially fractured role using Volvo’s stance on ‘platooning’, speed reduction and road safety, funded largely by the EU. Yet, other major carmakers such as Daimler-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen Group were feeling sidelined by the Scandi upstart and would react accordingly, pulling together the Euro MPs that they had ‘funded’ into their present appointments. However, the reach of the Sino-funded Volvo bandwagon is a difficult one to bring to a halt.
The first Polestar product was readied for sale; an expensive and rare electric-hybrid showpiece. City centre spaces (now with three in the UK) were considered more important than showrooms. Broad publicity helped it to pave the way to a still costly but larger volume model line. However, the first dichotomy occurred: was Polestar a truly independent brand, or just a sister to Volvo operation? Tear off the Polestar bonnet badge and the Volvoness is still clear, even though the ‘Thor’s Hammer’ headlamps are slightly different in shape. Volvo’s Recharge BEV programme also meant that Polestar’s efforts were diluted by the major brand. Oops! Even runaway performance statistics lost value as Volvo instigated its unique stance on top speed limiters, highlighting that buyers anticipating 155mph top whacks still wanted access to them and being denied by the carmaker was not conducive to progressive business, even though most of them would never venture into that lofty territory.
While Volvo’s sales have remained strong, even during the pandemic, Polestar’s have been minimal and the company finds that it cannot compete head-on with the equivalent Tesla that controls the BEV market across several geographical territories, whether in churned out volume terms, or by responding to perceived value-for-money demand. Polestar needs more product on the ground but, instead, finds itself playing a softy-softly Lexus game, without the competitive products. Its entry-level, single motor Polestar2 model has been upgraded, with a larger capacity and speedier recharge time but lighter battery pack that promises a range of 294mls; larger and lighter alloy wheels that are less damaging to the environment to produce; another vegan upholstery option and a more sustainable Nappa leather trim from long-term Scottish specialist Bridge of Weir.
The Polestar2 line-up commences at £39,900 for the single motor, front-wheel drive hatchback, rising to £57,900 for the twin-motor high performance version. The range will be supplemented this autumn by an SUV model, more details of which will emerge closer to launch date. The Polestar2 provides good street presence, rides, handles and performs to Volvo expectations but it is pricey for a mid-range family/business model. Its lineage is clear but the subtlety of its marketing means that it remains a sub-plot to parent Volvo…for the meantime.
