[Consumerwide_ HueSoung, Jun Reporter / Yohan, Bok Reporter]  The representative case of concealed brand nationality through cooperation is Polestar. In fact, the Polestar is a Chinese electric car. The Polestar series has been designed in Sweden, but made in China. The owner of Polestar is also Geely, the Chinese car group. The Polestar has been promoting themselves in Korea as a 'Swedish' premium electric car, and stood as a new rookie in the domestic electric car market. But, since this year began, they've sold only 100 cars. This means that the Polestar bubble is bursting. The market atmosphere might change during the late quarter if Polestar3 chases after other cars on the market. Yet we won't know till we get there.

Last year, Polestar2 was released as a single model in the domestic market. As it sold 2794 in a year, it took up the 3rd position among imported electric cars. It was the 1st position in the Korea imported car association standard.

However, performance during the 1st quarter of 2023 doesn't look so good. In January, they sold 'zero'. In February, only 44 and in March, 67 cars were sold. In total, they've sold 111 cars, which is a 58.7% decrease from the same quarter last year. Polestar took 20th place in the imported car competition. Polestar, which had 3rd place, has rapidly fallen to a way lower rank.

In general, imported cars can take time because of shipping transit time even if many customers want them. But, the issue lies in the decreasing popularity of Polestar2. When we checked with Polestar Korea, there was not a delivery problem, but the sales had decreased. A Polestar Korea-related person said, "We suspect that the sales record may recover as national subsidy starts.

Nevertheless, it is hard to see that the Polestar sales record during the 1st quarter has decreased only because of the national subsidy. In the 1st quarter of this year, the overall sales record of electric cars had inversely 22.7%(34186) increase compared to the same quarter last year. Besides the national subsidies, value-based consumers who prioritize the environment might have begun to purchase electric cars.

Furthermore, the national subsidies for Polestar have decreased on a large scale compared to last year. In 2022, it was 5.91 million won for one car. Subsidies for this year are predicted as 4.88 million won, which is a 17.4% decrease. Hence, their price competitiveness has gone. In addition, Polestar was assessed as level 4 in the '2022 car safety assessment' by the Ministry of land, infrastructure and transport. This is probably an obstacle. New car commitments being late might make it worse.

Polestar Korea is releasing Polestar3 and Polestar2-partial change models for the domestic market during the late quarter of this year. It is possible to raise the price for the Polestar2-partial change model in the domestic market. When that happens, the price advantage of Polestar2 will diminish even more. Polestar Korea seems to expect a recovery of the sales record through Polestar3. Anyhow, it doesn't seem easy.

The price of Polestar3 has decreased approx. 30 million won from the release price in China recently. If it is applied to the domestic market by the time of release, the final price might be set at 90 million won in Korea. But, in the same season, Kia EV9 was released. Besides, Benz and BMW are releasing new electric cars into the market. According to this, it is predictable that the competition will be intense. As a result, the 'selling over 3000' plan might not work, which Polestar Korea announced at the beginning of the year. Earlier, Polestar Korea couldn't approach their sales target last year either.