- Oslo chosen as first European Polestar Space demonstrating the brand’s aspiration to change the face of automotive retail
- Excellent customer care, non-commissioned product specialists, tailored after-care and a streamlined user journey result in a hassle-free customer experience
- Oslo Space combines the brand values of innovative design, technology and consumer-focused high street location for a seamless customer journey
- Polestar 1 available to order now with Polestar 2 available for reservation
Swedish electric performance brand Polestar has opened its first European Space in Oslo, Norway, changing the face of the traditional automotive retail model. The Oslo Space demonstrates the brand’s new retail concept combining minimalist design with seamless digital interactivity. Here, consumers will be able to define the entire customer journey from initial enquiry through, if they wish, to the delivery of their chosen Polestar model.
The city-centre location removes the need to make special effort to engage with the brand while breathing new life into a historic 1900s city-centre building. Customers will have the chance to experience every aspect of the hassle-free experience that defines the Polestar brand and its products.
Inside this modern retail environment, Polestar Specialists, acting as brand ambassadors on a non-commissioned basis, will engage with- and inform customers about the company and its products. Test drives can be conducted on-site, deliveries can be scheduled to home or office addresses and there is no held stock to try and persuade buyers away from their personalised configuration.
Those wishing to order or reserve a Polestar can complete the process through the Polestar app or website either in the comfort of their own home in their own time, or under the guidance of a Polestar Specialist in their chosen Polestar Space.
Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, says: “The Space in Oslo is extremely special. The location is perfect, right at the heart of where people shop and relax, and the way this modern retail experience sits inside a historic building really reinforces our belief that great design is timeless. Performance for us isn’t just about great driving dynamics, it is also about the experience customers have choosing their perfect Polestar and the excitement of living with it every day.”
Officially the fastest growing city in Europe and capital of Norway, Oslo was an obvious choice for Polestar’s first European space. Norway boasts the highest penetration of electric vehicles in the world, and represents a significant opportunity to the new OEM. With a further 50 global locations planned for the coming years, the Oslo space demonstrates Polestar’s unique concept to immerse consumers in the brand.
“The Polestar Space is our way of changing the face of automotive retail,” says Jonathan Goodman, Chief Operations Officer at Polestar. “With no salesmen and no vehicles on the forecourt, there is no hard sell, no requirement to shift stock and an entirely customer-focussed journey. Consumers will define how much they interact with the exhibits and Polestar Specialists tailoring their experience to their exact needs, not the brand’s. Once they have found the perfect specification, seamless digital interactivity places the vehicle in the customer’s app, ready to be ordered when it suits them. We will put the fun back into buying a car!”
Each Polestar Space is specifically designed to promote, not distract from, the product with a closely curated experience to truly reflect the design-led brand’s ethos. Polestar 1 and Polestar 2 take priority, lit with specially designed lightboxes to guarantee photographic studio-quality light without distracting shadows.
Along one side of the space the high-quality product wall houses individual components revealed from behind closed doors or through interactive proximity modules designed to stimulate conversation and interest. Customers can also interact with the Polestar 1 or Polestar 2 through Varjo human-eye resolution virtual reality, creating a fully immersive experience.
Those at the configuration stage can experience the unique free-standing atelier table, inspired by design house cutting tables. By physically placing trim modules on the surface, RFID technology allows customers to curate their own specification and see it reflected immediately on the nearby display screens. Placing an NFC compatible phone on the table means once the design is perfected, the user can take it away with them without even pressing a button.
Representing the next step in Polestar’s journey to bring a range of design and performance-led electric vehicles to market, these locations will ultimately go one step further. Each Polestar Space will become part of a network and foster a community, hosting talks and exhibitions, from design and architecture to technology and of course automotive.
Designed to offer a seamless customer journey from start to ownership, Polestar Oslo opens to the public on 25 October 2019 at Øvre Slottsgate 7.
