Tromso, Norway, March 27, 2026, 23:13 CET
Polestar on Friday put Tromso at the center of its latest sales pitch, using the Arctic city to argue that electric cars can work in deep winter. A separate TipRanks item said the example could point to wider EV growth in cold-climate markets. 1
The pitch lands as carmakers search for growth in Europe after a bruising spell for EV demand. Petrol price spikes tied to the Iran war are already lifting used-EV sales across the region, Reuters reported on Thursday, adding urgency to any proof that battery cars can win over buyers outside temperate cities. 2
In its post, Polestar said Tromso sits about 200 km inside the Arctic Circle and is central to Norway’s electric-car story. The company said its Polestar 4 long-range dual-motor model has more than 590 km of WLTP range — WLTP is Europe’s standard lab test for driving range — and can charge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes at fast chargers. 1
TipRanks’ private-companies auto-generated newsdesk took the point further, saying the Tromso case suggests long-running worries about winter battery performance and range may be easing. If that view spreads, it said, the pool of potential customers could widen for EV makers, charging firms and battery suppliers. 3
Norway gives that argument hard numbers. Battery-electric cars took 95.9% of new passenger-car registrations there in 2025 and 97.6% in December, Reuters reported in January, citing Norwegian Road Federation data, with Tesla leading the market ahead of Volkswagen and Volvo. 4
The Tromso push also fits Polestar’s own reset. Reuters reported last month that Europe has become the brand’s core market and that refreshed Polestar 2 and Polestar 4 models are central to its plan to lift sales while conserving cash. “We want to be above 100,000 (annual sales) as quickly as we can,” CEO Michael Lohscheller said. 5
Fresh consumer data point the same way. “There is currently an electric car bonanza in the used market,” Terje Dahlgren, an analyst at Norway’s Finn.no marketplace, told Reuters on Thursday as higher fuel costs helped push EV sales higher across Europe. 6
Still, cold weather remains a real test. In February, the FIA and Norway’s NAF said a winter trial of 24 new EVs in temperatures as low as -32 degrees Celsius found average range ran 38% below WLTP figures, though most cars stayed reliable and charging times were close to stated levels when batteries were warmed before charging. NAF President Tor Arne Litlere said the exercise gives motorists “invaluable data and insight” into how EVs perform in the “harshest Nordic conditions.” 7
Norway’s model may also be tough to copy. Reuters has reported that the country’s shift rests not just on tax breaks but also on higher charges for petrol and diesel cars, while Polestar itself still faces tariffs, tougher competition and softer EV demand as it tries to turn European momentum into profit. 4
For now, Polestar is using Tromso less as scenery than as evidence. If drivers accept EVs in the Arctic, the argument gets easier almost everywhere else — but only if charging networks, pricing and real-world winter performance keep up with the story. 1
