Polestar luxury EV brand opens 1st standalone dealership in metro Detroit

Luxury electric vehicle brand Polestar just opened its first standalone dealership in metro Detroit as it prepares for rising sales when the Swedish-Chinese brand delivers a rush of new vehicles in 2024-26.

Polestar Detroit opened April 1 on Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, with new and used EVs in the showroom and vehicles available for test drives.

The Detroit area was one of the first U.S. metros with a Polestar dealer. Local megadealer Ryan LaFontaine said he believed in Polestar’s promise of design- and tech-forward EVs when the brand was a glimmer in the eye of Volvo Cars and its Chinese owner, Geely Motors.

Detroit was an unlikely site for one of the first dealerships of an unknown brand of imported electric vehicles, but buyers responded. Sales began in 2021 at LaFontaine Volvo in Farmington Hills; business grew to around 35 a month before the operation moved to the new facility in April.

“The brand is very design-focused,” said a customer who had come to the dealership from the Chicago area — no dealership there — to buy two Polestars: The out-of-production P1 plug-in hybrid, which starts at $120,000 used in the Woodward showroom, and the 100% electric P2 that runs from about $50-$70K.

“I was sold on the brand within minutes of the test drive. It’s a really good combination of very beautiful design, performance and engineering.”

More:Electric 2021 Polestar 2 arrives as one of the year’s best, most advanced new cars

Making room for new models

The Polestar 2, a compact four-door SUV, is the only model in production now, but the brand is growing fast. The Polestar 3, a roomy and luxurious SUV that, like all future Polestars, will be 100% electric, is expected to go on sale in the first quarter of 2024. Prices will start at $83,900. A static Polestar 3 will be in the dealership till mid-July, when it moves on to a dealership in Minneapolis.

Two more models are slated for sale in 2025: a sleek SUV called the Polestar 4 and the P5, an 884-horsepower, luxury-performance sedan. It could spin off a top-of-the-line convertible, the Polestar 6, that would start at $200,000.

Polestar shares much of its engineering with Volvo, and even takes its name from Volvo’s gold-badged performance and racing sub brand. Unique design, high performance and first access to cutting-edge technologies help distinguish it from the less expensive Swedish brand.

Polestar expects to continue to grow, even as Volvo also converts to an EV-only lineup. So far, Polestar vehicles’ performance, technology and design support those high expectations.

The 2’s interior features minimalist controls that still manage to be useable, thanks largely to the brand’s early and complete commitment to the Google operation system for voice recognition, navigation and entertainment. Google OS notwithstanding and unlike GM’s upcoming EVs, the popular Apple CarPlay smartphone interface is fully functional, along with Android Auto, of course.

Bigger digs coming in 2024

Polestar Detroit will move about a mile north on Woodward to a bigger and more visible showroom in 2024.

“Opening a Polestar Space on the storied Woodward Avenue is perfect for our young Polestar brand,” said Polestar North America head Gregor Hembrough. “Bringing performance EVs to the Motor City will continue to evolve Detroit’s narrative as leading the future of the automobile.”

The dealership will continue to keep most of its inventory and perform service at LaFontaine Volvo. That shouldn’t matter to owners, because Polestar picks up and delivers vehicles for service, and EVs are inherently low maintenance: The first service interval for a 2 is two years or 20,000 miles.

“They picked my car up on a flatbed and returned it when the work was done,” said the Chicago-area owner, who asked for anonymity for security purposes because his garage houses other vehicles that are both rarer and more expensive than the pair of Polestars.

Detroit Polestar has a few cars in stock at all times.

Both locations position the brand to take advantage of automotive events including weekend Cars & Coffee gatherings and the Woodward Dream Cruise, not to mention adjacent luxury car and motorcycle brands.

For hours and other information, see Polestar Detroit.

Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.