Polestar EV rollout suffers early delay

Polestar launched as an independent company in 2017, but the Swedish automaker is no startup. The Volvo affiliate is backed by Chinese conglomerate Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. That gives Polestar the financial and engineering firepower to execute a product ramp-up with the scale and speed of established carmakers.

Polestar has one model on the market but aspires to deliver a quartet of performance electric vehicles by 2026.

CEO Thomas Ingenlath said Polestar's model of leveraging Volvo and Geely factories and engineering teams makes a rapid product rollout possible.

"We would be in a completely different situation" if Polestar had instead decided to build its cars from scratch, Ingenlath told Automotive News in April.

But Polestar is learning a harsh lesson on the downsides of co-dependence.

The Polestar 3, a critical U.S. model, is delayed because of software development issues plaguing affiliate Volvo's new electric platform, which underpins the midsize crossover. The delay led Polestar to revise its 2023 global sales volumes to 60,000-70,000, down from its earlier forecast of about 80,000 vehicles. Polestar delivered 51,491 vehicles last year.

"Given the tougher economic climate, it is difficult for us to compensate for the absence of the Polestar 3 volumes with incremental Polestar 2 volume," Polestar CFO Johan Malmqvist said on the brand's first-quarter earnings call. "That, coupled with high market uncertainties, led us to call down the volumes."

Polestar 2: The electric fastback arrives in August with more power and range for the 2024 model year. The freshened Polestar 2, like its XC40 and C40 siblings from major shareholder Volvo, receives a new-generation permanent magnet electric motor and new silicon carbide inverters to help boost efficiency and performance. It also gets larger, improved lithium ion batteries.

For 2024, the single-motor Polestar 2 variant shifts from front- to rear-wheel drive. A new motor produces 299 hp, 68 hp over the current model. The car promises 320 miles of driving range.

An all-wheel-drive variant, now with a rear-drive bias, produces 421 hp and delivers up to 276 miles of driving range. The front motor can be disengaged when not needed to boost efficiency and extend range.

A redesign is expected in the first half of 2027.

Polestar 3: The midsize crossover, built on the new SPA2 all-electric platform, sports dual motors and has an estimated EPA range of up to 300 miles. It should arrive by the second half of 2024.

The Polestar 3 offers a crossover's higher riding position but in a low-to-the-ground package designed to maximize aerodynamics. At launch, it will feature a rear-biased dual-motor powertrain and torque vectoring via a dual-clutch system on the rear electric motor. The debut model delivers 483 hp with an optional Performance Pack that provides an additional 27 hp. The vehicle's CATL-made battery, composed of 204 prismatic cells packed into 17 modules, promises 107 kilowatt-hours of usable power.

The crossover will also be Polestar's first U.S.-built model. Production at Volvo's Ridgeville, S.C., factory begins next summer, according to AutoForecast Solutions.

Polestar 4: The coupe-styled crossover will be the electric carmaker's fastest model when it arrives next year. It will be underpinned by what the automaker is calling Sustainable Experience Architecture, developed by Geely. It has no rear window and offers a new twist on the rearview mirror.

The driver will rely on a high-definition screen that shows a real-time feed from a roof-mounted, rear-facing camera to see what is happening behind the car.

Polestar 4 production begins this year at a Geely plant in Cixi, China.

Polestar 5: The Tesla Model S fighter should arrive by the first half of 2025. A development prototype of the performance sedan featured a dual-motor powertrain that delivered a combined 884 hp.

The Polestar 5 will debut a bonded-aluminum platform that delivers a stiffer chassis, enabling tight body control, high rigidity and improved driving dynamics. It will feature the next generation of Android Automotive, with advanced eye-tracking and proximity sensors to deliver information.

The vehicle is scheduled to go into production in spring 2024 at a Geely-owned, Polestar-run factory in Chongqing, China.

Polestar 6: Polestar is turning its O2 roadster concept into its next halo car, an 884-hp hardtop that's set for production in early 2026. The O2 gives clues as to how the Polestar 6 will look. The concept sits low and wide and features short front and rear overhangs, a compact 2+2 cabin design and a long wheelbase.