Rob Morris, Head of Sales at Polestar, explains to Tristan Young how Polestar is making itself more accessible to leasing brokers

POLESTAR abandoned its direct sales model last year. It replaced it with a non-genuine agency agreement and says the move has resulted in a significant boost in sales.

Fleet accounts for the vast majority of Polestar registrations and the brand is now looking to ramp up its broker channel, according to Head of Sales Rob Morris, speaking to Broker News.

The Swedish brand, which is Chinese owned, is now refining its approach to fleet and broker channels as it looks for further growth.

At the half-way point in 2025, Polestar is running up more than 200%; H1 2025 saw it take a 0.8% market share, up from less than 0.3% last year.

Speaking before the first-half figures were out, Morris said: “We delivered just shy of 4,000 cars [in the first five months of 2025]. Again, that’s 50% of what we did during 2024 in total.”

A changed approach to retailing

Key to this growth is the new approach to retailing. Polestar has shifted from a direct-to-consumer model to a non-genuine agency structure and no longer operates any of its own retail sites (which Polestar calls spaces).

“As a brand, we want to increase sales,” Morris explained. “By moving to the non-genuine agency model, it allows the retailers the opportunity to really actively sell in the spaces. Whereas historically it was more of a passive position.”

While fleet dominates, Polestar is aiming to expand its retail share over the next year. “I think for me, 70-30 within the next 12 months is probably where we’re going to aim for,” he said.

The brand’s physical footprint is growing to support this rebalanced strategy. Polestar operated nine spaces until recently but will nearly double that to 17 within the next 12 months. “What’s really critical with that growth is it gives us more visibility geographically for customers to be able to access the brand,” Morris said.

Polestar space in Sheffield

Greater broker commitment

For brokers, the structural changes are particularly notable. Polestar has introduced a dedicated tactical sales role to streamline broker engagement and stock access. “Part of the strategy and recognition that we had coming in was the way in which the organisation was set up. We didn’t have a dedicated flow for brokers,” Morris said.

“We created separate channels. One for contract hire and leasing, one for fleet managers to access through the investment in our team there, and then we created a tactical sales role as well, which will look to support the broker market to understand and to give them access to our stock and to our product range.”

The tactical sales approach is underpinned by a simplification of terms. “In November, when I joined, I recognised we had a very complex approach,” Morris said. “We took the opportunity going into the new year to align those to one set of terms. Effectively creating a much more simple process for customers to be able to access the brand.”

He added: “That’s worked really well in terms of our strategy and in terms of the engagement. The role really, while we call it tactical, is to enable the broker partners to have a direct line into Polestar.”

Daily rental, Motability and insurance replacement also form part of the brand’s wider fleet mix. “Within that, there is a small element of rental,” Morris said. “As the BEV car park continues to grow, so does demand for BEV replacement within the insurance industry… we’re supporting those rental partners where possible there in terms of that growth.”

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