Multi-brand dealership Wearnes Automotive will sell premium EV brand, Polestar, in Singapore and will cease sales of Japanese luxury marque Infiniti 

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First posted: July 1, 2021
UPDATE: December 10, 2021: We’ve test driven the Polestar 2 in Singapore, read our review here!
UPDATE December 7 2021: Polestar has officially launched with pricing of the Polestar 2 revealed.
Updated July 8, 2021: It’s official – Wearnes Automotive and Polestar release statement. Polestar 2 model variants information released.


SINGAPORE – Multi-brand dealership Wearnes Automotive will be the distributor/dealer for Volvo’s premium electric car offshoot, Polestar.

Meanwhile Japanese luxury brand Infiniti, currently sold here by Wearnes, will cease new car sales by the end of this year. The Polestar brand will occupy the spot currently taken by Infiniti at Wearnes Automotive’s facility at 45 Leng Kee Road.  

Taking Polestar is a natural fit for Wearnes, which already has the dealership for Volvo in Singapore, in addition to a number of luxury/sports car brands, including Bentley, Bugatti, Jaguar, Land Rover.

On July 8, 2021, Wearnes Automotive confirmed its official distributorship of the brand through press release: It will be the authorised dealer for Polestar, and it will retail and service its cars here, with a showroom ‘the Polestar Space’ to open in November 2021.

CarBuyer has obtained this information from industry sources – none of the companies involved have made official announcements yet, and there is no confirmed time frame for Polestar’s commencement of sales here, but an official announcement is expected soon.

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Time to shine?

Polestar has built premium, high-performance electrified cars since 2017, when it was announced as a stand-alone brand separate from Volvo. Polestar takes its name from Volvo’s Swedish Touring Car Championship racing team, and it was sold to Volvo to become its official high-performance arm – ala Mercedes-AMG or BMW M – in 2005.  

The first ‘Polestar’ announced for Singapore is the Volvo XC90 Polestar Engineered, which was originally scheduled for a Q4 2020 debut but has yet to arrive. 

For Singapore, Polestar’s first two full-on production models are likely to be the Polestar 2 and Polestar 3. Right-hand drive production has already begun for the Polestar 2 with the first RHD Polestars to go to the United Kingdom, and sales are expected to begin in Australia in 2021. 

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The Polestar 2 is an executive liftback that competes with the Tesla Model 3. It has a conventional dual-motor layout with 400hp and a 78kWh lithium battery pack with an estimated WLTP range of 470km. 0-100km/h is 4.8 seconds with a maximum speed of 200km/h, although there is an optional Performance Pack that adds Ohlins dampers, Brembo brakes, and larger wheels. 

The Polestar 3 is a mid-sized fully electric SUV, which has yet to be fully revealed, and it will go straight into the deep end of the EV market and compete against the likes of the Audi E-Tron, BMW iX3, and Mercedes-Benz EQC. Expect performance and range figures similar to the Polestar 2. 

Polestar’s first car, the flagship plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Polestar 1, was a 4,500-unit limited edition in left-hand drive only, and which ceases production this year, so it is extremely unlikely to be sold here. 

To Infiniti and beyond

As for Infiniti, a Wearnes spokesperson confirmed that the brand will cease selling new Infiniti cars here, as the brand is ceasing the production of right-hand drive versions globally. Like Saab, existing owners of Infiniti cars will still be supported with service, and warranties honoured. 

That’s been expected as in 2020, Infiniti announced that it would concentrate on its core markets of the USA, Middle East, and China, and would be pulling out of Europe, as well as ceasing production of its right-hand drive models. 

Infiniti debuted in Singapore in 2011 and saw modest success in its decade-long run here, reaching a high of 328 cars in 2016, though it was never a match for established luxury brands – BMW sold 4,582, and Mercedes-Benz 6,444 units in the same year.

Its cars were competitive and drove well at launch in 2011 with machines like the QX50 showing sparks of brilliance, and the ridiculously over-the-top QX80 plenty of character. But by 2018 they were always a step behind the constantly innovating Germans, with outdated platform and drivetrain technology. Contrast that to Lexus, whose doubling-down on hybrid tech is now paying off. 

But Infiniti’s situation comes as no surprise given the bigger situation. Major turmoil at parent company Nissan is likely the cause, with the Japanese automaker announcing huge losses this year, after years of instability despite mergers with Renault and Mitsubishi.

Even without an official confirmation from the brand itself, we’re quite certain Infiniti is done for here. Infiniti debuted in Australia a year after it did in Singapore – 2012 – but pulled out of Australia at the end of 2020, despite earlier reports that it would not. 

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