The traditional car-buying experience in the US can be a fraught one. The stress and pressure of haggling at a car dealership has given rise to new subscription-based alternatives such as Care by Volvo. Following in much the same footsteps comes Polestar, a Volvo spin-off that will not only offer the same sort of alternative ownership choices, but is taking things a step further with an entirely new shopping experience.
The first so-called Polestar Space will open in New York by the end of 2019, with more to come in 2020. These are meant to be places where people can visit and learn about the brand and its cars, seeing the models and options, asking questions without feeling pressured thanks to the lack of commissioned sales people.
In fact, if a potential Polestar owner wants to entirely forego human interaction they can just stay home and order a car online. As with Care by Volvo, Polestar customers can opt into a subscription service that includes nearly all costs associated. Insurance, maintenance and repairs will all be covered, meaning you’ll only really need to worry about gas.
And what will those future Polestar owners be getting? The company’s first car, the Polestar 1, is a 600+ horsepower hybrid coupe that cuts a subtle yet striking line with beautifully refined styling. Those opting to pay cash would be looking at a bill of greater than $155,000, but that car, too, is available for subscription. Polestar 2 will be the next, not yet revealed but Polestar is making no bones about the fact that this will be a fully electric model targeted squarely at Tesla’s Model 3.
Polestar hasn’t said how many Spaces the company plans to launch or where, only that the company is in negotiations with “60+ retailers” globally to open more. Hopefully they have fewer problems than Tesla.