L to R: The Polestar 2, 3, 4 and 5. Image: Polestar

Polestar’s global expansion

Polestar launched its 25th global market in the first half of 2022, a significant increase from 10 markets in 2020. Polestar has added six new markets since the start of 2022, including UAE, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. The company also plans to launch in Israel and Italy in the second half of 2022, adding to its Middle East and European footprint. By the end of 2023, Polestar plans to be present in an aggregate of at least 30 markets globally. The Polestar 2 has been on sale in Australia and New Zealand for most of 2022, and has been a considerable sales success.

Thomas Ingenlath, CEO of Polestar, says: “Selling already in 25 countries across the globe, Polestar has a unique position in the pure play EV market. We are a real company, not one based on slideshow promises. More than 55,000 Polestar cars are on the roads globally today and we are launching a stunning portfolio of three new models in just three years. These gorgeous EVs are all in advanced development stages, and we have the ability to produce great quality cars with our experienced industrial partners.”

The future Polestar model range

The Polestar 1 was a limited run hybrid supercar. A proof of concept if you will, allowing design and development of the Polestar 2 to proceed while building brand and product awareness. The Polestar 2 liftback has demonstrated the brand can mass-produce a battery electric vehicle — over 55,000 are on roads worldwide currently — and that its core values of progressive design and sustainability resonate with a large chunk of the electric vehicle market.

Electric car on a dirt road in a forest — The Polestar 2 AWD performance we recently reviewed.

If the Polestar 1 was an amuse bouche, the Polestar 2 is well and truly the main course (or entree in American parlance) Designed as a global vehicle for the profitable premium SUV segment, the Polestar 3 will be built in the United States and China, and will likely compete with the Mercedes-Benz EQC/EQE, Jaguar I-Pace and BMW iX. Dynamically, it’s expected that Polestar will also be targeting ICE competitors such as the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5. This will be a tech-laden, performance oriented SUV, debuting Polestar’s LiDAR-based active safety systems and its next generation in-car software and user interface.

The Polestar 4, teased above, appears to have a coupe/SUV-like profile, and will go head to head with the excellent Porsche Macan (which will soon be electrified). We’re expecting the Polestar 4 to enter production in China from 2023. According to a statement from Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath to the media, he has previously quoted a €45,000 entry price for the Polestar 4, and a €75,000 entry price for the larger Polestar 3. That works out to roughly AUD$67,000 and A$112,000 respectively.

Lastly, and certainly not least, we have the Polestar 5. It’s a looker for sure, and uses a revolutionary new bonded aluminium platform developed by Polestar’s UK engineering team. This large performance sedan will pump out 640kW of power and 900Nm of torque, and you can read our coverage of it here.

In a recent investor presentation by aforementioned CEO Thomas Ingenlath (watch it above), Polestar reveals a few interesting feautres of its flagship vehicle. From the image with the clay model, the front end design appears to be simplified compared to the Precept. One shot from the video shows high-performance Akebono brakes — still in Polestar’s signature gold — but it signifies a departure from the Brembo partnership on the Polestar 2 sedan. The Polestar 1 featured 6-piston aluminium monoblock calipers from Akebono.

The interior of the Polestar 5, 4 and 3 will be a big departure from the Polestar 2; while we’re fond of the Polestar 2’s interior, there’s a lot of components borrowed straight from the Volvo parts bin, and while contemporary and premium, the cabin doesn’t feel next-generation.

We’ll have to wait and see the production Polestar 3 in October this year for confirmation, but we expect many more bespoke parts and switchgear when compared to the Polestar 2.

The Polestar 5 will move away from the Volvo parts bin, with a bespoke interior.

EV Brief’s wishlist for future Polestar products

Polestar offers a unique combination of a design and performance-focused model range, underpinned by an environmentally conscious and mission statement, and the Polestar 2 is unquestionably an excellent debut mass-market vehicle. There is however room for improvement, and we’d like to see innovation in the brand’s future offerings:

Vehicle to Load (V2L) functionality

Hyundai and Kia offer it, Ford and Rivian in the US even have standard household outlets fitted to their EVs. Mobility — and the way we use our vehicles — is changing, and the ability to power and charge tools and devices is a no brainer for a battery on wheels. This should be standard on any EV in development.

800 Volt Electrical architecture

We know its coming; we just don’t know when (or on which Polestar model). The Polestar 2 charges reasonably fast at a peak speed of 150kW, but It can’t compare to Tesla’s 250kW, or the charging speeds of the Porsche Taycan (270kW) or Hyundai Ioniq 5/Kia EV6 twins (220kW). 800 volt architecture is a game changer for electric vehicles. With higher voltage, lower current is required for DC fast charging, improving thermal efficiency and preventing overheating. This is one reason 400 volt electric vehicles charge so slowly from 80 percent state of charge.

Improvements in Polestar’s lane guidance and autonomous functions

Nothing comes close to Tesla’s autopilot for accuracy or driver confidence in semi-autonomous features. Tesla’s main benefit is its Neural Network which combines vehicle data, camera images and road data with machine learning to improve the autopilot system. While we don’t expect to see anything similar from Polestar, there’s definitely room for improvement in the software that controls lane guidance and adaptive cruise control to provide a smoother drive.

Software improvements

While generally good, Polestar’s app is buggy, and it’s data connection is glitchy, with many users reporting issues with the telematics system, requiring a full reboot. We’ve had issues with the LTE connection on every Polestar press vehicle we’ve tested, and it’s just not good enough in 2022 from a premium brand (or any brand for that matter). The company must work to improve the user software experience if it hopes to gain conquest business from Tesla.

Range extender mode

We appreciate the Polestar 2’s minimalistic interface, however its lack of an “eco” mode hampers the ability to really squeeze extra range out of the car when necessary. While quite efficient, the Polestar 2 isn’t best in class by any means, and drivers only have an option to set the climate control to eco. Future Polestar vehicles should have a mode which not only cuts off climate control, but limits power consumption, acceleration inputs and anything else that affects range.

Polestar highlights future four EV model range - what features do we want included?