Polestar unveils its plans: three new models, a new plant and subscription-based sales

Three new models in the pipeline, a new production plant in China and a commercial policy clearly oriented towards customers are the foundation of the launch of Polestar as an independent brand manufacturing high-performance electric vehicles. Polestar is the new brand that Volvo has created to differentiate its range of electric vehicles from its range of conventional vehicles, in addition to the highly sporty models it had already been producing for the Swedish brand and which turned it into its motorsport division.

Polestar has unveiled its roadmap for the coming years, presenting its first model, the Polestar 1, confirming the launch of three new models and announcing the construction of its first factory in China, as well as the subscription-based vehicle system on which it will base the brand’s development with a view to its future relationship with customers.

Polestar 1: the first year’s production is already sold out

The Polestar 1 is the first model to roll off the brand’s production lines and which will reach the various markets where it will be present by mid-2019. Developed from the synergies in design, development and production that its membership of the Volvo Car Group provides, with access to the technology, platforms and economies of scale that this brings, the Polestar 1 was developed in roughly half the time of its counterpart model at Volvo.

It is a Grand Tourer coupé with a two-door body and a 2+2 interior layout, and a hybrid powertrain delivering 600 CV under the bonnet. Polestar has provided few details about the hybrid system powering its first model, described as an “electric motor supported by an internal combustion engine”. This combination offers “a range of 150 km on pure electric power alone: the longest electric range of any hybrid car on the market”, and “its performance of 600 CV and 1000 Nm of torque” places it among the highest-performance electric models on the market.

Although it is developed from Volvo’s new scalable SPA platform, approximately 50 percent of the vehicle’s components are entirely new and created specifically for the Polestar 1. Likewise, Polestar announces that the model incorporates “a large number of new technologies, all aimed at making it a true driver’s car”, a clear allusion to the brand’s intentions regarding the type of customer it seeks to attract.

Thus, the Polestar 1 will be the first model in the world equipped with the advanced CESi chassis (Öhlins Continuously Controlled Suspension) developed by Volvo Cars. It will also feature a carbon-fibre body, offer 45 percent greater torsional rigidity and an even lower centre of gravity than other cars. The Polestar 1 will likewise have a dual electric rear axle, which enables greater torque vectoring, helping to provide more precise control of each wheel’s acceleration, thereby improving grip on the road and enabling faster and safer cornering.

The Polestar 1 will be the first model from the brand to roll off the production lines of the Polestar Production Center the brand is building in Chengdu, China, a factory currently under construction that will be operational before next winter and for which the entire estimated first-year production is already sold.

Polestar Spaces: a franchise network to sell its models

Polestar will offer its models through subscription sales with a duration of 2 to 3 years. The two models that will complete the new electric brand’s range will also come from there, Polestar 2 and Polestar 3. The first will begin production in 2019 and will be the first 100 percent electric model of the brand and of the Volvo Cars Group. A mid-size car, this BEV (battery electric vehicle) is intended to compete directly with the Tesla Model 3, so a higher production rate is expected. As for the Polestar 3, the electric brand has only revealed that it will be a large SUV.

The Polestar 1 will begin production from mid-next summer. Its price will be around 155,000 dollars (about 131,600 euros). The first batch of the model is already sold out. Volvo has announced that the first year of production of the car has already been completely sold out to its future owners. The Polestar 2 will not enter production at the start of 2020, although before that, throughout 2019, it will be suitably unveiled, as will the first sketches of the Polestar 3.

To market its models, Polestar will create a franchise network under the name Polestar Spaces, where in a stress-free and pressure-free environment, the brand’s customers will be able to find all the information about them and about its products, request test drives, and sign up for and access the customer services the brand plans to develop. Polestar hopes to have more than 60 of these facilities in the main markets around the world before 2020.

The brand’s statement also outlines Polestar’s intention to offer its models on the market under the subscription sales model, through which, with a single monthly payment, customers will be able to enjoy complete mobility with one of the brand’s models for periods of two to three years of use, with the main services included, as with traditional renting arrangements, including both collection and delivery of the vehicle. Using Phone-as-Key technology (the phone as the key), the brand’s customers will be able to share the use of their car with third parties, as well as a range of on-demand services the brand is developing (receiving and delivering parcels, …). The aforementioned subscription service will be available in 2020.