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Polestar has confirmed it is working on three all-new electric vehicles dubbed the 3, 4, and 5 as it is getting ready for an initial public offering.
All three EVs will be unveiled by 2024. The first will be the Polestar 3, an electric SUV similar in size to the Porsche Cayenne that will launch next year. In 2023, it will be followed by the Polestar 4 that’s pictured in the center of a teaser released by the Swedish automaker and will be similar in size to the Porsche Macan.
Following these two models to the market will be the Polestar 5, scheduled to be unveiled in 2024 before hitting the roads in 2025. It will be a low-slung saloon similar in shape and size to the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan and its design will be inspired by the Precept concept.
“This is a really exciting time for Polestar,” chief executive Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement. “With two award-winning cars on the road today in 14 active markets across three continents, we seek to expand to 30 markets by 2023. We are thrilled about the targeted addition of three new premium electric cars to our line-up by 2024, starting with our first SUV expected in 2022.”
Polestar has previously confirmed that the 3 will be built in the U.S. at Volvo’s South Carolina plant and marketed towards American buyers. It will act as a rival to the likes of the Tesla Model X, Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace.
Polestar is going public by merging with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Gores Guggenheim and is seeking a $20 billion valuation. The combined company will be held by a new public company that will be named Polestar Automotive Holding UK Limited and is expected to be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “PSNY”.
It seems that car makers want to sell evs before there is any infrastructure for them. Ev makers keep shooting themselves in the foot, and will continue to do so until they all can agree on a universal infrastructure plan. But hey, I'm good with ice.
It seems that car makers want to sell evs before there is any infrastructure for them. Ev makers keep shooting themselves in the foot, and will continue to do so until they all can agree on a universal infrastructure plan. But hey, I'm good with ice.
If you live in a metropolitan area, the infrastructure is already sufficient. And let's be realistic; people living in BFE aren't going to be buying these liberal commie cars anyways.
And what infrastructure has polestar set up for their cars?
They are waiting for a handout from Biden. Not saying they are wrong, but this just shows there commitment. Other than Tesla, only Rivian appears to be serious and committed about their EV future, and it shows.
Polestar may not yet have the name recognition of some other EV makers, but the brand is well on its way to achieving the needed growth. The company revealed this week that in 2021 it achieved its goal of 29,000 global sales, while also increasing its presence from 10 to 19 markets during the year.
This year is expected to be another big one for the automaker, which will see the arrival of the Polestar 3 battery-electric SUV in a matter of months when it joins the Polestar 2 sedan in the lineup.
The market debut of the 2023 Polestar 3, which will be produced in South Carolina, will be the main event for the automaker in 2022, giving Polestar a player in a segment that is about to become very competitive, counting models from Audi, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and others among its ranks. Expected to be about the size of the Volvo XC40, the new model could eclipse Polestar 2 sedan sales, simply because the crossover and SUV market is so hot at the moment.
The automaker indicated this week that it plans to offer a Level 3 autonomous driving system in the Polestar 3 as well, with Volvo having confirmed it earlier this month for its XC90 successor.
"Polestar 3 will benefit from advanced technologies from Luminar, Nvidia, and Zenseact that will provide cutting-edge unsupervised autonomous driving functionality," the automaker said.
As in Volvo's case, however, the system may only be available in California initially, and only on highways, before being greenlit for activation in other states, as autonomous system capabilities in the US are legislated by each individual state. Additionally, the system could to be offered on a subscription basis rather than as a one-time purchase, as in future Volvo models.
A Level 3 system allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel and eyes off the road, and doesn't require attention be paid to traffic at all until the system signals the driver to resume control. This difference will make it very distinct from Level 2 systems, such as Tesla's Autopilot and others, that require the driver to continue to monitor the road at all times, keep their hands on the steering wheel, and be ready to take over control at all times. Level 3 systems, by contrast, are effectively "mind-off" systems, allowing for reading, emailing, eating, or video viewing, but that stop short of allowing drivers to nap.
It remains to be seen just how widely available, geographically, Polestar's unsupervised system will be available at launch, and how much it will cost per month. Tesla has recently indicated that it plans to increase pricing for its Full Self-Driving system, still not expected to exceed Level 2, from $10,000 to $12,000 as a one-time purchase, and to increase its monthly price from $199 a month to an unspecified amount. Monthly subscriptions are expected to become the preferred mode of autonomous system purchase and usage in the future.
Along with the launch of the Polestar 3, the automaker plans to continue expanding its retail presence of Polestar Spaces. During 2021 the automaker's retail locations more than doubled to 100 locations, with 20 being added in the US alone, with plans to achieve 150 by the end of 2022. This year Polestar also plans to begin offering its vehicles in Ireland, Spain, and Portugal, as well as Kuwait, Israel, and the UAE.
"We are delivering on our targets," said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO. "It is a hugely exciting time for the brand, with new markets and models to support the ambitious growth plans we have set for ourselves. Thanks to the relentless dedication of Polestar employees across the globe, we are progressing with confidence towards our proposed public listing."
The Polestar brand is expanding rapidly and is preparing to launch three new products in the next two years. A new teaser image from the company shows off the tail of the upcoming 3 and 5 models, while leaving what is presumably the Polestar 4 under a sheet.
This teaser is our first look at the Polestar 4. The automaker describes it as an "electric SUV coupe" and says that the model is launching in 2023. Judging from this image, the vehicle's footprint appears to be very similar to the Polestar 3. One possibility is that this offering has the same underpinnings but a sleeker design as we see with the BMW X3 and X4 or other products.
The Polestar 3 will be the brand's first crossover. It'll arrive as a two-row model with either a single- or dual-motor electric powertrain. The vehicle will share underpinnings with the third-generation Volvo XC90 but will be more expensive and more luxurious. The battery will provide an estimated range of over 372 miles (600 kilometers). The model will debut in October 2022, and manufacturing will take place in China and the United States.
Styling for the Polestar 5 will reportedly take design cues from the 2020 Precept concept. We don't have any powertrain details about the vehicle yet. Expect the model to compete against electric four-doors like the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan.
"In addition, with both Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 on the horizon, we are set to play a leading role in the electrification of lucrative and sizeable premium SUV segments. With a 2025 production capacity for these two EVs expected above 160,000 vehicles per year, we will have the ability to scale quickly and attract new customers to the brand," Mike Whittington, Head of Global Sales at Polestar, said in the newly released teaser.
Polestar is also celebrating over 32,000 orders for the 2 sedan since the beginning of 2022, which is an increase of 290 percent over the same period last year. The brand is now operating in 25 markets and has plans to expand to 30 by 2023. For example, launches in Israel and Italy are coming in the second half of 2022
Swedish EV Maker Polestar Says It Expects to Complete SPAC Merger
June 21, 2022
Polestar expects shareholders in a special-purpose acquisition company to approve a merger on Wednesday with the Swedish electric-vehicle maker, in a deal that the company said will raise around $850 million and help fund its future model development.
If shareholders approve the deal as expected, Polestar, owned by Chinese car maker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., will combine with Gores Guggenheim Inc. and begin trading Friday.
The deal will result in less cash for Polestar than originally planned, after around one-quarter of Gores Guggenheim investors requested a refund. Polestar said in May it expected to raise $995 million from the deal. Investors in a SPAC deal typically are allowed to withdraw their investments ahead of any deal. Polestar said the percentage of investors who asked for a refund was below the market average.
Polestar sold around 29,000 vehicles in 2021 and expects that figure to grow to 290,000 by 2025. The company has said it would use the proceeds from the merger to fund new product development and expand into new markets.
Unlike Tesla Inc., Polestar enters a crowded field of competitors from both upstarts and traditional auto makers. Mr. Ingenlath hopes that he has something that competitors don’t to help assure Polestar’s survival: a partnership with established auto makers.
Polestar shares factory space, service facilities and purchasing departments with its current owners, Volvo Car and Geely. That means Polestar doesn’t have to pay billions of dollars to create this infrastructure, like EV truck maker Rivian Automotive Inc., which is spending $5 billion to build a new factory in Georgia. Polestar will use a Volvo factory in the U.S. to build its first SUV, the Polestar 3.
09-29-2021, 10:44 AM
