Polestar hit the market trying to compete with the likes of Tesla. While it had a good kickoff in the electric vehicle market, Polestar sales haven’t kept up the steam. What is preventing the brand from becoming popular, and what could it do to drum up more appeal with consumers?

How Polestar sales are going so far in 2023

In Q1 of 2022, Polestar sales managed to reach 260 units, which isn’t too bad for a brand just starting out. In the next six months, Polestar sold 2,300 units in each quarter, according to GoodCarBadCar. It ended the year with 2,100 sales in the last quarter. For the year, it sold a grand total of 6,960 units in the U.S. Globally, however, only 51,500 Polestar sales occurred.

So far this year, the brand is looking a bit lukewarm, at least on U.S. soil. The first quarter managed to surpass last year’s with a total of 2,999 sales, and second quarter U.S. Polestar sales figures are still pending. Globally, however, it was the best quarter the brand had to date, with 15,800 purchases. Most of those were sold in the month of June, according to InsideEVs. 

In order to meet last year’s figures, the brand needs to sell another 3,961 units in the next six months. With no sales reported yet in April, May, or June, it’s tough to project how Polestar will fare. 

Is it due to the brand being rather new to the market? Well, if you look at Rivian, another newbie in the field, it managed to sell about 13,699 units for the entirety of 2022. So far this year, the brand sold 4,201 in the first quarter and 12,601 in the second, which shows it’s outselling the Polestar in the first half of 2023 with a total of 16,802 so far. That’s almost 13,000 more. Why does it lack in popularity?

What models does Polestar offer?

It originally had the Polestar 1, which was a two-door coupe that came with a hefty $150,000 price tag. It was the first plug-in hybrid model the brand offered in its lineup. The brand powered it up with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which produced 326 hp and 384 lb-ft of torque for just the front wheels alone. If you add the rear wheels, you get a total of 619 hp and 738 lb-ft. 

Polestar ended production on it after the 2021 model year. Currently, the brand is selling the Polestar 2 model, which is a more affordable version and is inspired by Volvo’s sedans. With this EV, you get a blank-styled grille, smoother lines on the body, and a taller stature, which mimics more of a crossover vehicle than a sedan. 

The Polestar 2 comes in a hatchback style, and you can choose a single or dual-motor setup. For the single motor style, you’ll pay approximately $50,000 to start, while the dual setup can be had for $54,000 or so. 

What can the brand do to increase sales?

The biggest issue the brand is having, which is contributing to its slow start, is that it only offers one vehicle with the ability to order another for a future delivery date. The Polestar 3 SUV can be reserved now at $85,300, according to Polestar’s website. It won’t be delivered, though, until 2024. 

Other vehicles in its future lineup include the Polestar 4, a performance SUV coupe-style vehicle, which the brand plans to release in 2023/2024. There’s also Polestar 5, a performance four-door styled GT model which should be released in 2024, and the Polestar 6, a hard-top convertible, planned to come out on the market in 2026.

Adding more vehicles to its lineup will likely expand its electric vehicle sales. However, the limited number of choices that it has now could slow sales down quite a bit. 

Polestar sales had a decent start for a newbie company, but this year isn’t looking quite as good. With only 2,999 reported sales so far this year, it has quite a ways to go to match last year’s figures, let alone surpass it.