ALD Automotive will provide fleet leasing facilities for the new performance Polestar 2 electric fastback model.
Polestar is a new brand launching mid 2020 that is owned by Volvo and its parent company Geely. Cars are built in China at its Luqiao plant, which also builds the Volvo XC40.
The car has an exciting specification designed to go head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3. It is four-wheel drive and features a 300kW output from its 78kWh battery. The range of the car is 292 miles.
The price of the Polestar 2 is £49,900 – bang on Tesla money – which means it qualifies for the £3000 plug-in car grant (although the Polestar 2 is currently not on the list of eligible cars). The cost includes all routine servicing and maintenance for the first three years.
Uniquely, the Polestar 2 is being sold through a digital only platform direct from Polestar. ALD Automotive is providing the leasing facilities for both personal and business leases, from credit assessment to e-signing the contract. Length of lease will be flexible says ALD Automotive, which will manage it for the duration of the contract.
Small fleets interested in the Polestar 2 can visit the Polestar website which has a dedicated fleet area.
Polestar 2: fleet leasing from ALD Automotive
Mike Whittington, head of sales at Polestar, said:
“Key to our proposition as a performance electric car brand is our ability to deliver a hassle-free buying journey and ownership experience.
“ALD Automotive provides us with the platform and tools we need to confidently launch our online sales model for operational leasing and digital first approach.”
John Saffrett, deputy chief executive of ALD added:
“We are proud to be partnering with Polestar to launch this unique online offering thanks to our market leading digital infrastructure and expertise. This strategic partnership contributes to our sustainable growth strategy as a key player in the energy transition, as well as fully supports our commitment to providing innovative and flexible mobility solutions.”
Is The Digital Channel The Only Place I Can Lease A Polestar 2?
Jonny Miller: working with major funders
While the digital channel is the main way to access the new Polestar 2, a spokesperson for Polestar confirmed that the company had partnerships with the UK’s major leasing firms for SME and business orders.
Jonny Miller, Polestar’s head of sales development, added:
“I am in the process of working with the major funders and leasing companies in the UK to ensure they can quote lease rentals on the car, which should be completed in the next few weeks.
“With regards to UK timings, we are expecting our internal corporate demonstrators to arrive in June and the first customer cars to arrive during August. Test drives will be available from one of our two retail ‘Spaces’, through regional test drive events or through the corporate demo programme.”
Polestar 1 – a plug-in electric hybrid with an amazing 77 miles in zero emission mode
Tell Me More About Polestar
Polestar is the electric performance car brand jointly owned by Volvo Car Group and Zhejiang Geely Holding. Polestar benefits from technological and engineering synergies with Volvo Cars as well as significant economies of scale. This helps the design, development and production of separately-branded, electric performance cars.
Polestar launched in 2017 with the Polestar 1 – a low-volume Electric Performance Hybrid GT with 609 hp, 1,000 Nm torque and an electric-only range of 77 miles – the longest of any plug-in hybrid car in the world.
In 2019, the company revealed Polestar 2 as its first fully electric, higher volume premium car. It’s planned to arrive in markets from the middle of 2020.
In 2020, Polestar released the Precept – a vision study vehicle designed to showcase the brand’s future vision in terms of sustainability, digital technology and design. In the future, Polestar 3 will join the portfolio as a fully electric performance SUV.
Polestar 2 features the ‘SPOC block’ (Severe Partial Offset Crash) – a deflective solid aluminium block housed on the bottom edge of the front firewall on either side of the car, designed to minimise intrusion of the wheel and other objects into the cabin and towards the battery pack during partially offset frontal collisions
What About Polestar 2 And Safety?
Polestar has just conducted a frontal offset crash test on the Polestar 2. And while the image above looks fairly horrific, the car did everything it was supposed to do should such an eventuality occur.
The battery pack is fully housed within the floor structure and enclosed in an aluminium case which helps stiffen the structure and keeps the battery intact to protect driver and passengers. In the event of a crash, the battery pack is automatically disconnected from the rest of the vehicle to ensure there is no live connection and no chance of fire.
T
he Polestar Precept
According to Polestar, the Precept is not a concept car but an expression of its intent to make relevant and contemporary electric performance cars. Key among these are the use of sustainable interior materials, continued development of the digital user interface powered by Google Android technology, and the essence of Polestar design.
“Precept is a declaration, a vision of what Polestar stands for and what makes the brand relevant,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO. “The car is a response to the clear challenges our society and industry face. This is not a dream of a distant future, Polestar Precept previews future vehicles and shows how we will apply innovation to minimise our environmental impact.”
To improve safety at slow speeds, and alert pedestrians to the presence of the car, Polestar 2 features specially developed external sounds as part of its acoustic warning system. The Acoustic Vehicle Alert System (AVAS) is designed to be recognisable, non-intrusive and natural-sounding.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, comments:
“Safety is of paramount importance for Polestar. We are directly linked to Volvo Cars and with that comes their famous reputation for outstanding safety technology. So of course, Polestar cars are designed to be amongst the safest in the world and we are really proud of that.”
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