Volvo’s premium EV subsidiary Polestar is said to be planning a large expansion of its showroom network in China in a bid to compete with Tesla.
The Polestar 2 is a direct competitor to the (now China-made) Tesla Model 3, and deliveries are said to commence in July. However, Polestar only has one showroom in the People’s Republic, in Beijing, and the plan is to have a total of 20, with most of them opening in Q3 of this year.
Unlike traditional carmakers, Polestar will not use a dealer network in order to sell its cars. Instead, it will sell directly to consumers, just like Tesla, Nio and Xpeng.
By using this direct-to-consumer system, automakers can better manage a car’s retail price, as well as its production and inventory. However, it’s also a more expensive method, since car makers then need to invest in these self-owned showrooms.
According to Autonews Europe, Polestar’s solution is to partner with investors in order to build and operate the showrooms while also managing the sales and delivery of cars, said people who spoke on condition of anonymity – as this plan has not been made public yet.
In China, the Swedish brand will open its newest showrooms initially in Shanghai, before expanding to coastal Ningbo, northern Tianjin and southern Guangzhou. These showrooms will be mostly found inside shopping malls.
Tesla currently has more than 50 showrooms in China, with Nio operating around 110. Xpeng meanwhile plans to have over 200 locations by the end of 2020, from roughly 150 now.