Polestar, the Swedish premium electric car company founded by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding, delivered on its global sales target of 29,000 vehicles in 2021, representing year-on-year growth exceeding 185%.
Polestar has produced two electric performance cars. The Polestar 1 was built between 2019 and 2021 as a low-volume electric performance hybrid GT with a carbon fiber body, 609 hp, 1,000 N·m and an electric-only range of 124 km (WLTP)—the longest of any hybrid car in the world.
The Polestar 2 electric performance fastback is the company’s first fully electric, high-volume car. The Polestar 2 model range includes three variants with a combination of long- and standard-range batteries as large as 78 kWh, and dual- and single-motor powertrains with as much as 300 kW / 408 hp and 660 N·m.
Polestar 2 Single Motor
Polestar increased its global presence from 10 to 19 markets in 2021, with growth in Europe and Asia Pacific. In the first half of 2022, Polestar plans to add Spain, Portugal and Ireland to its European market footprint, and enter the Middle East with presence in the UAE, Kuwait and Israel. By the end of 2023, Polestar aims to be operating in at least 30 global markets.
Polestar’s retail footprint more than doubled in 2021 to 100 locations globally and the company aims to have 150 in operation by the end of 2022. In addition to the openings of inner-city Polestar Spaces, the company debuted its new, larger, out-of-town Polestar Destinations. The first permanent Polestar Destination opened in December 2021, outside Gothenburg, Sweden.
Polestar plans to launch three new cars in the coming three years. Polestar 3, a premium electric performance SUV, is set to launch in 2022 and will be the first Polestar to be built in the US. Polestar 3 will benefit from advanced technologies from Luminar, Nvidia and Zenseact that will provide unsupervised autonomous driving functionality.
Polestar 4—a smaller electric performance SUV coupe—is expected to follow in 2023. In 2024, the Polestar 5 electric performance 4-door GT is planned to be launched as the production evolution of Polestar Precept—the manifesto concept car that Polestar released in 2020 that showcases the brand’s future vision in terms of design, technology, and sustainability. As the company seeks to reduce its climate impact with every new model, Polestar aims to produce a truly climate-neutral car by 2030.
In September 2021, Polestar announced its intention to list as a public company on the Nasdaq in a business combination agreement with Gores Guggenheim, Inc.