The Polestar 5 has been launched in Australia as the brand’s halo model, offering supercar-like performance in a sleek liftback body – but so far, buyers are snubbing the entry-level variant.
Polestar is offering the electric GT in two versions, with the Dual Motor priced from $171,100 before on-road costs, and the flagship Performance priced from $193,100 before on-roads.
According to Polestar Australia managing director Scott Maynard, all pre-orders have, so far, been for the Performance.
“We often find that when a brand new model is launched, the first take up of that model goes to the higher end, and that’s certainly been the case with this car,” Mr Maynard told CarExpert.
“I think that the people that are buying it at the moment want the car to be fully spec’d, but in time the interest in Polestar 5 will start to broaden once the car gets out on the road and once it gets seen a little bit more.
“Then, I think, it’ll start to attract a broader audience who would seek the more cost-competitive example of the car, that still want the style, want all of the features, all of the safety, want all of the sustainability – but don’t necessarily call on the very sharp end of performance that is offered by [the Performance]. [Buyers] that don’t necessarily need that extra 100 kilowatts.”
The Polestar 5 Dual Motor uses a 112kWh battery pack and produces total outputs of 550kW and 812Nm. That makes it good for a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.9 seconds, while offering a driving range of 678km (WLTP).
Step up to the Polestar 5 Performance, and outputs increase to 650kW and 1015Nm, dropping the sprint time to 3.2 seconds. The same 112kWh battery is used, though driving range drops to 558km (WLTP).
Asked whether the company was considering reducing prices of the Polestar 5 Dual Motor or introducing a more affordable variant below it, Mr Maynard was unequivocal.
“No. We won’t see any changes to the range, and we won’t see [the price of] the Dual Motor reduced,” he said.
