The theme of the last 12 months has been the never-ending rush of new electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia, but Polestar is confident of cementing a place in the local market despite its niche status.
Polestar – owned by Chinese conglomerate Geely and therefore a sister brand to Volvo, Zeekr and Lotus – has struggled to penetrate global markets since its launch in 2017. It is by no means the only brand that has pursued an all-electric strategy globally, but it is being consistently and comprehensively overtaken by brands like Tesla, while also struggling with the rapid growth of China’s electric vehicle industry as a whole.
Nevertheless, Polestar recorded strong sales growth in 2025, with a year-on-year increase of 36 percent globally and a 38.5 percent increase in Australia alone – still well behind the Australian growth of compatriots Chery (+176.8 percent) and BYD (+156.2 percent).
Polestar’s local brand managing director Scott Maynard believes the brand has a lot to offer Australian drivers compared to value-focused Chinese manufacturers, despite offering premium vehicles.
“I still feel that Polestar has enough to tell of a unique brand story and a unique story that cannot be matched by the competitors that have arrived and are yet to come. We still have free air and a space of our own,” Mr Maynard told the media at the launch of the updated Polestar 2.
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“The market is crowded and I think every brand operating in Australia is looking long and hard into the future to figure out exactly how that will change and how that space might be compressed.”
There are no fewer than 32 mid-sized electric SUVs on offer in Australia, plus there are many more sedans, sedans, large SUVs and even electric commercial vehicles.
In 2025, 103,269 electric vehicles were delivered in Australia, representing 8.3 percent of all new vehicle deliveries, up from 7.4 percent or 91,945 deliveries in 2024.
“But it’s really pleasing to see the continued adoption of electric vehicles, the growing share of electric vehicles in the Australian market, and we’re really pleased that electric vehicles are now overtaking the premium segment that we operate in, and that allows us to continue to operate in a space that’s not quite as flooded,” he added.
“There is still a lot going on there and we need to be aware of that, but we are still confident that we can repeat what we did last year next year.”
Apart from the Chinese newcomers, a new challenge arises from previously electrically averse brands from other countries. Toyota and Subaru have just introduced significant upgrades to their respective bZ4X and Solterra electric SUVs, while Mazda is preparing to introduce two Chinese-made electric vehicles in the 6e and CX-6e.
Asked whether electric vehicles made by legacy manufacturers would pose a greater threat to Polestar’s Australian efforts, Mr Maynard instead said it would have a positive effect.
“It brings more buyers into the market, it increases awareness of electric vehicles and their uptake, getting people involved,” he said.
“We still have some of those unique brand characteristics that I think would differentiate us and allow us to continue to be successful.”
In fact, Polestar is uniquely committed to transparent emissions reporting, providing accurate carbon dioxide emissions figures over the lifespan of each of its models and their variants.
For example, Polestar’s so-called “sustainability credentials” explicitly list 15.4 tonnes of CO for the base single engine of the Polestar 2 Standard range2 in material production, 5.0 t for battery modules and 1.6 t in manufacturing and logistics, a total of 22.0 t CO2 for this variant alone.
These “references” are publicly available on Polestar’s website and all contribute to the brand’s “Polestar 0” research project, which “aims to create a truly carbon-neutral car by eliminating all supply chain, manufacturing and end-of-life emissions.”
“There really aren’t many brands, either here or in the future, that can match our credentials in the sustainable production of these cars, and there really aren’t any that can match us in terms of design,” Maynard said.
“So I think those two things still allow us to be clear and stand out, and that’s what has worked for us in the past, and I can’t imagine why that should change.”
“That’s not to say we don’t have respect for what’s happening and don’t keep an eye on it, but I’m satisfied that we can monitor it.”
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