Polestar will spend the next three years executing a lofty electric vehicle launch schedule that will climax with the Precept concept, a "Rosetta Stone" of sorts that provides a physical representation of the company's future.
Polestar refers to the concept as its "manifesto." The Polestar 5 Precept tells consumers and eventual shareholders what the EV automaker intends to become.
Greg Hembrough, head of Polestar USA, said in an interview that the next several years will be spent moving further away from its Volvo roots and closer to its own brand. Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath laid out a plan to expand to new markets, increase sales volume ten-fold and launch three new cars during a presentation. This ambitious plan is based on the company's core values of design, sustainable and innovation.
The road is far.
Polestar was introduced to the world in 1996 as a company that sold and developed performance software for Volvo Cars. Polestar became a Performance partner in 2011 and gave Volvo vehicles with enhanced sport characteristics. Volvo Car Group fully acquired it in 2015. The first hybrid Polestar 1 and full EV Polestar 2 were born as its own brand after it spun off.
The four-door EV Polestar 2 is the most popular model, with 29,000 vehicles sold between the two models. The upcoming Polestar 3 SUV is expected to get underway sometime in 2022, as the current Polestar 1's limited production recently concluded.
Future design.
The most prominent of the Polestar tenets is luxury and performance, which is why the Precept is meant to convey that from the jump. Polestar's brand identity is dependent on distinguishing itself from its sibling brand and becoming something unique.
Hembrough believes that people will see a bit of the DNA from one of the sibling companies if they look at the Polestar 1 and Polestar 2. The intent of the Precept was to give you an indication of our future design language, but also a clear indicator of elements you'll see from a design perspective. These are things that will actually be brought into production and are far more important than just a wish list.
The business end of the Precept starts to tell a story. The Volvo family resemblance begins to fade in favor of a more distinct look. The original design of the headlights from the sibling brand is now called dual blades, and appears to split the original design in half.
Alex Kalogianni has an image.
There is a vestigial grille for engine cooling in theshark nose, replaced by the smartzone sensor suite. This house houses a collection of radar emitters and cameras that are intended for enhanced advanced driver assistance system features.
The front aero foil improves the flow of air. Ingenlath was enthusiastic at the event.
Alex Kalogianni has an image.
It is innovation.
Polestar has a full plate when it comes to tech. The fun stuff like its ambitions for its vehicles to have a certain level of automated highway piloting, but it is pointless if the cars fail to beat the competition.
The Polestar 5 will have an aluminum architecture indicative of its sporty side. The grand tourer will have an electrical system that will be incorporated into the Polestar 3 and will have an integrated graphics card. The company is targeting the 450 kilowatt P10 to be one of the most powerful ones out there, and it will be producing 603 horsepower. This is married to a battery pack that can switch from 800 to 400 to match the charging infrastructure, and will also support bi-directional charging.
Alex Kalogianni has an image.
Hembrough says focusing on the user experience keeps Polestar on the right course. It is one of the things we began building very early with the Polestar 2, being the first company with anANDROID automotive operating system that includes embedded GOOGLE services. There is a surprise and delight with everything from having a web browser to games to a video player when the monthly software updates are rolled out to customer vehicles.
We begin to take it very quickly to the next level with the Polestar 3 and as indicated in the Precept, things like ocular tracking is a convenience but also a safety opportunity as well. We will never stray away from safety, but we will continue to be part of that innovation.
It is sustainable.
The focus was on reducing carbon impact if not neutralizing it from production entirely, with a great deal of emphasis placed on the issue of sustainable.
Polestar plans to produce a carbon neutral vehicle by the year 2030. It is a conversation customers are actively engaged in, too, so it is not a self pat on the back.
Five or ten years ago, that would be one of the last things consumers would be talking about, but the world has changed so dramatically, those are all things consumers are very conscious about and asking about.
Alex Kalogianni has an image.
The declaration of thePolestar 0 project has galvanized a sense of urgentness in the company, and the methods planned vary in scope. There are new and innovative materials in the interior of the Precept. The seats are made from recycled plastic. Polestar looks to differentiate itself with the old ways of automaking by using a fabric that is already in use in the fashion and footwear world. Hembrough said that those things aren't just taglines, they're at our core.
Outside of innovative materials, Polestar will use carbon capture tech to achieve its goals, as well as increasing transparency within its supply chain level and insist on improved supplier practices.
Beyond the year 2025.
Polestar's intentions are just scratched by the bold endeavors laid out.
The company wants to make a carbon neutral car by the year 2030. Polestar admits that time will tell if the efforts will be enough to make a difference in the future, as plotting a course that far into the future is truly sailing into the unknown. It has a goal to become a climate neutral company by 2040, which will dictate many of its choices over the next 18 years.
