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Charging ahead: China’s Geely targets US with upcoming, upscale Polestar EVs
Posted by Talbot Payne on November 17, 2023
Santa Monica, California — Riding into electric vehicle sales headwinds, EV startup Polestar announced its full model lineup for the U.S. market on Polestar Day here. The Gothenburg, Sweden-based brand is one of a handful of startups who see a generational opportunity to bring EVs to market, joining other startups like Rivian Automotive Inc., Lucid Motors and Fisker Inc. in trying to replicate the success of Tesla Inc.
The premium luxury brand also signals a milestone for Chinese auto conglomerate Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Polestar is the Geely group’s luxury performance brand in the United States, a major development as China takes advantage of global government EV mandates to gain a foothold in foreign markets.
Like French-based Stellantis NV and Germany’s Volkswagen Group, Geely’s portfolio is global, including brands like Swedish-based Polestar and Volvo, England’s Lotus, and China-based Geely Auto and Zeekr. Zeekr is planning an initial public offering in the U.S. with a target of $1 billion.
Like Maserati and Alfa Romeo under the Stellantis umbrella — or Porsche and Audi in the VW portfolios — Polestar is a premium brand positioned above the more family-focused Volvo luxury badge. While Volvo is transitioning to an all-EV lineup, Polestar’s lineup is exclusively battery-powered to go head-to-head against other EV brands like Tesla, Cadillac, and Jaguar.
“Today is a glimpse into our future, the near future,” said Polestar CEO Tomas Ingenlath inside the historic Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport, where Hollywood celebrities have been known to keep private planes. “Our customers have big expectations of our cars and their performance. They combine the thrill of driving, technology and sustainability.”
Polestar began as a Volvo racing team before being bought by the Swedish automaker and its name integrated into the company as a performance badge. It launched as a stand-alone, performance-focused electric brand in the Geely family in 2021. Like its sister Gothenburg company, Volvo, Polestar is design-focused (CEO Ingenlath came from the design side of the business) with a Scandinavian focus on simple lines and environmentally-fashionable materials.
Like Volvo, it is leveraging Geely financing, platforms and battery production — in addition to signature Scandinavian style — to give it resiliency in an uncertain U.S. market. Polestar entered the American market in 2020 with the 2 sedan, a Tesla Model 3 rival. Sales have been modest as the brand harnessed resources for its full model lineup announced last week at Polestar Day.
Its aggressive strategy includes four new models by 2026.
True to its racing origins, Polestar’s presentation was heavy on performance with the sleek 5 sedan promising a whopping 884 horsepower from its twin motors and a Lotus-derived aluminum chassis in 2025. But Polestar’s presentation also filled the cathedral-sized hangar with a political message about creating “a sense of urgency to act on the climate crisis.” Volvo has long been a socially-conscious and Polestar is aimed at an upscale, green demographic.
Polestar Day attracted customers like Gray Uhl, 70, and his wife, Arlene, 69, from San Diego who were smitten by the vehicles’ design — in particular the two-door Polestar 6 Roadster due in 2026.
“You can tell how much design drives this company,” said Gray Uhl, himself a home products designer. “We want a convertible EV and this is the only one made with good interior room and a back seat.”
Arlene Gray also had an eye on California’s regulatory future. “Our next car is an EV. In California it has to be because they are eliminating gas cars,” she said referring to the state’s ban on gas car sales that takes effect 2035.
For all the power and panache of the 5 and 6, Polestar’s flagships are the volume-focused 3 SUV and its sister 4 SUV coupe. The 3 is a mid-size, two-row ute that will be built alongside the three-row Volvo EX-90 electric SUV in South Carolina beginning next summer on Volvo’s dedicated SPA2 electric architecture. Ingenlath said the plant employs non-union labor.
The Polestars enter the EV market at a time when consumer enthusiasm has cooled and electrics are sitting on vehicle lots on average for twice as long as gas cars. Valuations for EV startups like Rivian and Lucid have plummeted, with the latter losing $227,802 on each car it builds. While Tesla still dominates the market, it has slashed prices and 50% of non-Tesla buyers are trading their EVs for ICEs according to S&P Global.
Polestar is one more brand in a crowded, niche EV market. However, the Swedish brand sees that market expanding as governments like California 1) force EV sales over the next few years with fines, and 2) as EV-only brands benefit from legacy gas-powered manufacturers paying them with EV credits to avoid those fines. Upscale buyers are Polestar’s core customer and Experian’s Automotive Consumer Trends Report finds 85% of EV consumers own another, gas-powered car.
Volvo and Polestar have also benefited by leveraging parent company Geely’s multiple electric platforms. The Polestar 4, for example, shares its SEA electric platform with Zeekr, a Chinese brand that has made inroads in the Chinese and European markets. The Polestar 2 shares its gas-electric CMA platform with the Volvo XC40, and Geely is developing future Lotus and Polestars on the aforementioned, lightweight SEA architecture.
Auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid of Guidhouse Insights said Geely has also benefited from its European brand acquisitions. “Geely has really learned how to engineer and design first-rate vehicles like the Volvos and Polestars,” he said at Barker Hangar. “The Chinese just didn’t have that kind of product sophistication before.”
In a media drive around Santa Monica Airport, pre-production versions of the Polestar 3 and 4 were as easy to ride in as they were on the eyes. The cabins were quiet, and the twin tablet screens — one on the dash, the other behind the steering wheel — were complemented by handsome materials. The Polestar 3 joins the 2 sedan in the U.S. lineup next year, and it will initially carry Chinese-made CATL batteries in its belly. Upon its manufacture in South Carolina, it will adopt U.S.-assembled Korean batteries and will become eligible for a federal $7,500 tax subsidy when purchased.
You’ll know the Polestar family members by their distinctive, twin-blade headlights — and by their unusual design innovations. The 3, or example, boasts an aerodynamic blade poised over the front fascia to reduce drag.
The 4 eliminated its rear window to accentuate its long, coupe-like roof line. Instead of a rear window, a long, panoramic roof extends beyond the rear seats to provide better lighting for those sitting in the back. How does the driver see out back? With a camera mirror.
Future innovations include a partnership with Mobileye and lidar-maker Luminar to bring hands-free driving to the Polestar 4. And Polestar is partnering with StoreDot on a so-called “silicon battery” that accelerates fast-charging to add 100 miles of range in five minutes — quicker than today’s market-leading, 800-volt Hyundai/Kia models at 100 miles in 10 minutes.
“Charging and range anxiety are the greatest barriers to EV adoption,” said Engenlath.
For all of the challenges batteries bring to operation, electric architecture is an inspiration to designers. “It allowed us to start with a completely clean sheet of paper,” designer Nahum Escobedo said with a smile as he walked past his new creations. “And the Polestar brand means we are free to create something different.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.