Discounted Polestar 2 latest in BEV price war
BY COBEY BARTELS | 13th May 2024
THE latest manufacturer to drastically reduce its battery electric vehicle (BEV) pricing is Polestar, slashing the price of its 2 range until 9 June as an end-of-financial-year special in disguise.
According to the company’s official website, the move aims to “support Australia’s transition to cleaner transport, and the proposed New Vehicle Efficiency Standard”, but is more likely a response to similar cuts from its competition.
In recent months, Peugeot reduced its now-sold-out E-2008 by more than $20,000, MG priced its MG4 and ZS EV models at just under $40k, Nissan cut more than $10,000 off the sticker price of Leaf models and Tesla continued to sporadically adjust pricing across its range – with two major cuts in April.
According to the Polestar website, the standard-range, single-motor 2 will receive a $5000 saving, plus an additional $5000 discount if the base Pure Spec option is selected.
The long-range, single-motor version receives a $7500 saving with the same $5000 bonus in Pure Spec and the long-range, dual-motor variant gets an even bigger $10,000 cut, with a further $5000 off for ticking the Pure Spec box.
It means buyers can now get into a base-spec Polestar 2 for $57,400 before on-road costs after discounts are applied.
This makes it more affordable than Tesla’s entry-level Model 3, priced from $58,900 before on-road costs, making it clear Polestar is chasing down Australia’s best-selling BEV brand.
A real bargain among the cut-price Polestar 2 line-up is the long-range, dual-motor all-wheel drive 2 with peppy 310kW/740Nm outputs, which can now be had for $61,400 before on-road costs after both discounts.
The move comes just weeks after the Polestar 7 was confirmed as a successor to the 2, but with the model still a few years away the medium-segment fastback aims to remain competitive against its nearest rival – the Tesla Model 3.
So far this year Polestar has shifted around 448 of its 2 models, while Tela has sold a whopping 6865 Model 3s, a sizable sales gap that a tiny price advantage is unlikely to close.
Whether Tesla will respond with a third price cut in as many weeks is anyone’s guess, but with the Polestar ‘sale’ set to end on 9 June it is unlikely to pose a serious sales concern for the US brand, despite its dip across the first quarter of 2024.
