Meet the Polestar 3: The Newest Sustainable SUV on the Block

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The Polestar 3 EV will feature sustainable material innovations, rivaling the likes of the Tesla Model X and Porsche Cayenne.

Tesla is out. Polestar is in. The Swedish automotive company is set to debut its third model in October—a high-end electric SUV. And the premium electric vehicle is as sleek and stylish as it is sustainable. 

Featuring a sporty profile and design elements reminiscent of the Volvo C40, the Polestar 3 will compete with the likes of the Porsche Cayenne, Tesla Model X, BMW iX, and Mercedes EQE SUV. The SUV will feature a dual-motor drivetrain and a large battery, giving the vehicle a range of 372 miles on a single charge—21 miles more than the Tesla Model X.

polestar 3
The new Polestar 3 will hit the market later this year | Courtesy

Designed in Sweden and made in the U.S., production of the Polestar 3 will begin in early 2023. According to the company, it will feature “sustainable material innovations.” What those are remains to be seen. Ethos reached out for comment; however, a spokesperson for the company said they aren’t confirming details until the car’s premiere.

“Polestar 3 is the SUV for the electric age. Our design identity evolves with this high-end large luxury EV, with a strong, individual brand character,” the company’s CEO, Thomas Ingenlath, said in a statement. “With this car, we bring the ‘sport’ back to the SUV, staying true to our performance roots.”

Polestar’s expanding lineup

Founded in 1996, Polestar was initially established under the moniker “Flash Engineering” to produce road cars for the Volvo team in the Swedish Touring Car Championship. Fast forward to today, and the company has since been acquired by Volvo and Volvo’s Chinese parent company Greely.

The company has come a long way since the release of its first public production model, the Volvo S60 Polestar, in 2013. On June 24, Polestar became the latest electric car maker to go public. Following a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, it began trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker “PSNY.”

Ingenlath says the company will use the nearly $850 million raised from the deal to fund its plans for expansion. “We go public as an operating and successful business—not to raise capital to build a business,” he told CNBC. “It’s because the next three years will be super-fast growth, the company is geared up for that with the product portfolio.”  

Polestar's lineup
Polestar’s lineup | Courtesy

Polestar aims to achieve global sales of 290,000 electric cars by the end of 2025, up from  29,000 in 2021. Following the release of the Polestar 3, it plans to launch a new car each year, with the Polestar 4 and Polestar 5 debuting in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

The Polestar 4, a coupe SUV, will contend with the Porsche Macan. “It will compete below the Polestar 3’s €75,000 [£65k] sector; it is slightly smaller,” Ingenlath explained. “It will not compromise on the interior length, but this car is slightly more ground-hugging, a bit more of the coupe-type roofline.”

The Polestar 5 will be a high-performance midsize electric luxury sedan. The four-door grand-touring vehicle is based on Polestar’s concept model, the Precept, which was unveiled in 2020. “The automotive industry is facing pressing questions about design and environmental impact,” the company’s website reads. “Precept aims to answer these questions, showing our commitment to sustainable and engaging electric mobility.”

The future of electric vehicles

The electric vehicle market is certainly burgeoning. Global electric car sales soared by 140 percent in the first quarter of 2021. 

According to the International Energy Agency, electric cars sales reached 6.6 million in 2021, tripling their market share compared to 2019, which saw 2.2 million electric cars sold.

As countries around the world pledge to achieve carbon neutrality in order to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, many of the world’s largest automotive markets are ditching gas in favor of going all-electric. 

mercedes-benz eqe
Courtesy Mercedes-Benz

British car brand Jaguar is going all-electric starting in 2025. Land Rover is expected to follow suit in 2035. Other luxury car companies to announce plans for electrification include Audi, Mercedes Benz, Rolls Royce, and Bentley. And GM, Volvo, Ford Europe, Mini—which is owned by BMW—and Hyundai are also going all-electric.

“We don’t plan to launch any [internal combustion engine] vehicles after 2026 anymore. And that means by 2033, we will be fully electric,” Audi of America President Daniel Weissland revealed to Yahoo Finance Live.

Even the world’s biggest oil giants agree that electric cars are the future. Exxon Mobil’s CEO, Darren Woods, told CNBC that he expects all new passenger cars sold globally to be all-electric by 2040. “That change will come at some pace, but that’s not going to make or break this business,” he said.

Rea more in our guide to luxury electric cars.

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