Polestar 2 debut garnered with detail

The Volvo subsidiary Polestar has officially launched its first volume production model. Two electric motors with a combined output of 300 kW power the Polestar 2 EV that has a battery capacity of 78 kWh, which should enable a WLTP range of 500 km.

++ Kindly find an update of this article below. ++

Production of the Polestar 2, which the brand has explicitly positioned as a competitor to Tesla’s Model 3, will launch in China in early 2020. Polestar’s first markets are China, the USA, Canada, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.

So far, Polestar has quoted a price of 39,900 euros for the basic version (this is in regards to the German market and taxes). The pricing is undoubtedly set as a challenge to Tesla and its Model 3. In the first year of production, however, Polestar will only offer the “launch edition” at an asking price of 59,900 euros. According to the manufacturer, the subscription price will follow at a later date.

Now to the technical data: Based on Volvo’s CMA platform, the five-door hatchback brings 660 Nm of torque to the road and sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in less than five seconds. The battery itself consists of 324 cells divided into 27 modules. Polestar has not yet provided any information on charging performance.

While the Polestar 1 PHEV still takes up many elements of the typical Volvo look, the all-electric Polestar 2 offers a design language that should be trend-setting for the future models of the premium brand that specialises in electrification.

Lux is critical for the Polestar 2 positioning. LED headlights including a special welcome light, frameless exterior mirrors and the illuminated Polestar emblem reflected on the panorama glass roof are some of the more striking features. Also, there are golden seat belts (well), brake callipers and valve caps as well as a “standard vegan interior with progressive textiles,” according to the presentation. “We decided to bring something different to the segment,” says the head of design Maximilian Missoni, who also spoke of an “edgier, bolder” design.

The onboard infotainment system is based on Android, so features such as Google Assistant, Maps and the Play Store can be found in the Polestar 2. The degree of networking in the electric vehicle also allows the use of a smartphone as a key as well as supporting car sharing functions.

The Polestar 2 will be available to be seen in Geneva shortly. During the year, the electric car will also be shown at road shows in Europe, North America and China. Polestar is also announcing that the EV will soon be present in its sales network, which is currently under construction.

For now, pre-orders and later orders are only possible online. The Polestar 2 EV will go into production shortly after the plug-in hybrid Polestar 1 set to launch in the middle of this year, according to an earlier announcement.

Update 8 March 2019: Polestar has given a bit of more information on the basic version of their electric car. The entry-level EV announced at the launch for 39,900 euros will only have one electric motor and a smaller battery. In contrast, the “launch edition” of the Polestar 2 will cost 20,000 euros more and feature two electric motors and a battery capacity of 78 kWh in the first year of production.

polestar.com, autoblog.com (update)