Reply With QuotePolestar is Chinese, not Swedish.
The article has the reasons why.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/ev...ZqO5ygtF3t6Q_#
(In this country, sellers of pre-used EV company cars are in big trouble as well: prices of the pre-owned Teslas are matched by the price of a new Tesla these days).
Originally, I wrote 'Swedish Polestar'...
Last edited by thieuster; 26th January 2024 at 22:57.
Polestar is Chinese, not Swedish.
"A man of little significance"
I stand corrected. 'Polestar' echoes the once great name of fast Volvos. I'll revise my initial post.Originally Posted by Foxy100
It's a Geely company, won't be too long before they are made in China
All European Polestar 2 and 3s are already made in China.
The 3s are also made in Korea and the US, presumably for those markets at least.
So, pre-owned Tesla sellers are having to be more realistic with their used pricing?
Cry me a river. New Tesla prices are pretty settled, perhaps the Netherlands are a bit behind the adjustment that has already happened elsewhere?
Prices were over the top high because of the tax benefits the Dutch government handed out 'gifts' like Oprah Winfrey did with her live-show audiences. But reality kicks in and the tax benefits are cancelled and (e.g.) road tax is leveled with other, non EV cars. Road tax here is based on the car's weight - and the Teslas are heavy. In the past Teslas and other EVs were 'handed out like free food'. Not anymore.
Yes, Volvo used to make great cars, now it makes SUVs. Or, as Gavin Green calls them, 'weapons'.
I wonder where this ends though. If second hand values seem to be suffering, will lease/finance companies have to increase the cost of a new car to the point where fewer people can afford them?
"A man of little significance"
Taxing cars on weight is an excellent idea. As Dacia has shown with the Jogger, you can make a seven-seat car weigh 1,200kg. If it loses out on its NCAP rating because it doesn't have rear row seatbelt warnings or lane assist then its buyers must bravely struggle on.
What happened to the Dutch government's plan of a couple or so years ago to get everyone driving electric while insisting on not using nuclear energy?
"A man of little significance"
I can tell you stories about that, but then I would violate the 'no politics' rule of this part of the forum. Even when it concerns Dutch politics. We need to have a long coffee, or a lunch to discuss that. Do you have plans to come over to the Netherlands?
Funnily enough, last time I came to the Netherlands I was driving a very Swedish Volvo T5. That was fun!
I'd love to come back, I have a few customers I need to visit. I'll have a think about that, it would be good to meet you. And the Austin-Healey museum is only just outside Amsterdam.
"A man of little significance"
I understand that Tesla dropped the price of its Model Y from €65k to €45k over the last two years, that will hurt any dealer who was buying in based on the original price. The UK dealers doing the same have been through that pain.
Hard to argue on your road tax issue, anything that encourages lighter more efficient transport is a good thing, a decent small EV still pays comparable road tax to an ICE as far as I understand. A Model Y weighs about the same as a Range Rover Velar, for context.
Mind you, if I may say, the Netherlands has always been a bit of an oddity regarding car taxes, some of the highest in Europe at one point IIRC. I ordered a new RHD personal ‘grey import’ Golf 3 GTI back in the day from a Dutch dealer under the EU rules, the tax exempt price was way lower than the UK market one even after UK import tax and VAT paid.
Seems to be an annual cycle at Polestar. I believe last year they let go of about 40%.
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That grey import thing was absolutely mind-blowing. Tons of dealers here made a fortune with that. Around 2000, my wife drove an Alfa 156 JTD company car and when she picked it up, there were several RHD Alfas to be picked up by their owners as well. The dealer told her that these were sold to the UK and that Alfa Romeo Netherlands had distributed those cars all across the countries, otherwise only the dealer near the Hook of Holland would benefit...
Road tax here is expensive: starting 2026, road tax for a Tesla Model 3 will be €1200/yr. A Mazda 6 on fuel will be just under €800/yr. (On the other hand, car insurance is not too expensive; my wife's CR-V costs about €45/month and my Jimmy... €18/month).
Whenever I’m in NL I see many Dodge Rams - compared to the UK at least. Is the tax on them ridiculously expensive or is there some exemption/benefit with it being an import?
I was in Shanghai last week and a friend took me to car dealer, all Chinese made electric cars, build quality and features were amazing and prices very good, they’ll be over here soon.
They already are, aside from Polestar we have Lotus, MG, BYD and Great Wall, and I'm sure many more use Chinese components and batteries.
"A man of little significance"
It doesn't echo, it's the same company. It took me a little while to get my head around it as well. Polestar once made some fantastic high performance ICE Volvos, both road and race. A Chinese company buys out Volvo who own Polestar and here we are. It could be worse, they could be painting them in that beautiful electric blue colour!
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