Polestar celebrates half a decade in the UK with Polestar Festival
Polestar recently marked its five-year anniversary in the UK with Polestar Festival, its largest-ever customer event.
The Polestar Festival celebration saw 1,000 Polestar customers ascend on the all-electric Swedish performance brand’s Bicester facility to attend the UK unveiling of its new Polestar 5 GT.
Polestar started life as the performance arm of Volvo. Yet in 2017, it announced it would focus on making electric-only cars beginning with the Polestar 1. From 2019 to 2021, just 500 of these plug-in hybrid coupes were made annually.
Polestar’s mainstream success in the UK came with the Polestar 2, which was announced in 2019. Since it made its UK debut in summer 2020, the Polestar 2 has garnered several awards from the country’s motoring press including New Car of the Year, Most Loved Car, and Best Premium Electric Car.
Despite being one of the older EVs on the market, the Polestar 2 is still a popular choice amongst buyers thanks to its decent range and reliability.
Models that followed the Polestar 2 were the Polestar 3 SUV – a twin to the all-electric Volvo EX90, and the Polestar 4 crossover. During the first half of this year, the latter would prove to be the best-selling Polestar model in the UK.
The Polestar 5 is the latest member of the Polestar family, and made its international debut at the 2025 Munich motor show, where it wowed attendees with its 871bhp, 416-mile range, and lack of a rear window. Now on sale, the Polestar 5 is pricced between £89,500 and £142,900 in the UK.
Polestar Festival guests were able to experience the Polestar Arctic Circle collection first-hand. Earlier this year, a three-car team comprising a modified Polestar 2, 3, and 4 took part in this year’s FAT Ice Race. Attendees could try them for themselves, albeit virtually, on Polestar Festival’s race sims.
The world-record breaking, Kevin Booker-driven Polestar 3 Long range Single motor was also on display. In August 2025, the all-electric SUV set a record of 581.3 miles on a single charge – 143 miles more than its official WLTP range of 438 miles.
Alongside driving demonstrations in the Polestars 2,3, and 4 on the Bicester airfield, guests were able to experience an off-road demo in the Polestar 3 as part of Polestar Festival.
The event, presented by Vicky Butler-Henderson, also called on 180 Polestar drivers in attendence to help create the world’s largest Polestar logo collage with their vehicles. Upon completion, it measured 170-metres wide.
Following Polestar Festival, Matt Galvin, the managing director of Polestar UK said: “It was incredible to see so many customers and friends of the brand on Saturday, and the reception to the new Polestar 5 has been astonishing.
“Polestar UK is growing fast and has a very exciting future ahead of it, and I would like to thank all our customers for being part of this success story.”
