Geely Backed EV Maker Polestar Plans China Showroom Expansion, Challenging Tesla

According to Reuters, Polestar, the premium electric vehicle maker owned by China’s Geely, plans a big expansion of its showroom network in mainland China. The brand is preparing for delivery of cars to compete with Tesla’s locally made Model 3.

Polestar, which plans to deliver Polestar 2 electric sedans in China from July, currently has only one showroom in Beijing. While Tesla owns more than 50. It plans to expand to 20 showrooms, with most of them opening in the third quarter of this year. It will open showrooms firstly in Shanghai and then expand to coastal Ningbo, northern Tianjin and southern Guangzhou. The showrooms will be mostly in shopping malls.

Polestar plans to deliver Polestar 2 electric sedans in China from July. The Gothenburg, Sweden based automaker started producing Polestar 2 sedans earlier this year in China and will also export them to Europe and the United States.

Showroom strength is becoming an important differentiator for electric vehicle (EV) makers in the world’s biggest auto and EV market, as they line up new model launches. Compared to traditional automakers, EV brands tend to sell directly to customers, a strategy also pursued by Tesla and Polestar’s local competitors Nio Inc and Xpeng Motors.

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