Polestar, Volvo Car Group’s performance subsidiary, has appointed Mike Whittington as vice president, global sales operations.

Mike Whittington, vice president, global sales operations at Polestar

It comes as the company starts shaping its retail operations ahead of the 2019 launch of the Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid coupe – earlier this month Polestar announced the launch of its new retail lab which is developing concepts for the forthcoming “Polestar Space retail environments”, which will adopt a different approach to traditional car dealerships.

Whittington brings more than 20 years’ experience in the motor industry, covering global infrastructure, e-commerce strategy and new electric vehicle introductions from brands including Jaguar Land Rover, PSA, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota.

Thomas Ingenlath, chief executive officer of Polestar, said: “We are entering an important phase in the launch of the new Polestar brand. We defined our retail strategy and are now developing the global retail network we need. Polestar wants to interact with its customers online and face-to-face, and we have begun engaging with the dealer operators who will represent Polestar around the world. Mike’s experience and expertise will help us realise our objectives and keep us on the path to success.”