Polestar, Volvo Cars’ all-electric brand (well, the Polestar 1 is a plug-in hybrid but everything else will be all-electric), is targeting the Porsche Cayenne directly in its bid to become a major electric vehicle manufacturer. become cars. That might be clever marketing, because the Cayenne sold 83,071 units in 2021, just a few less than the 88,362 units of the slightly smaller Macan. Without the Cayenne and the Macan, Porsche wouldn’t have become the powerhouse brand it is today.
The company recently released the wraps from the pole star 3, a battery-electric SUV designed to appeal to the kind of people considering buying a Cayenne or Macan. On its website, the company says: “Premium electric performance has found a new form. One that brings new context to both the SUV and EV. One with NVIDIA computing power, an all-electric powertrain and sustainable material innovations. One that shows what’s next. 1 and 2 is indeed 3, but so much more. Polestar 3. The SUV for the electric age.”
The company’s emphasis on the word “premium” is important. Speaking at the Automotive News Europe Congress last week CEO Thomas Ingenlath announced that the Polestar 3 would be priced between €75,000 and €110,000. Since the euro has plunged in value recently, prices in dollars should be about the same. At those prices, the Polestar 3 will compete with the entry-level and mid-range Cayenne models. The Cayenne Turbo mode can cost over $135,000 and the Turbo S E-Hybrid variants go for over $170,000. “It’s an SUV that everyone loves, but it’s also very aerodynamic and very exciting to drive. It’s not a car to drive to kindergarten,’ Ingenlath said.
Polestar 3 will be built in the US
The Polestar 3 will be manufactured at Volvo’s Ridgeville, South Carolina plant, where the XC90 is currently being built. “Polestar 3 is being built in America for our American customers”, says Thomas Ingenlath. “I remember the great response when I first shared Polestar’s vision here in the US and I’m proud that our first SUV will be produced in South Carolina. The US is no longer an export market, but a home market.”
“U.S. manufacturing reduces delivery times and the environmental impact associated with shipping vehicles around the world. It will even have a positive effect on the price of Polestar 3,” said Dennis Nobelius, COO at Polestar. “All of this makes the brand even more competitive in the critical US market.”
The Polestar 3 will be built on the company’s SPA2 (Scalable Product Architecture) platform, which will enable dual motors and a battery large enough to provide up to 600 kilometers of range in the combined WLTP test cycle. There is no EPA rating available at this time, but expect it to be about 12% less. The SPA2 platform also offers unprecedented, hands-off self-driving capabilities when regulations allow these features to be activated, says Inside EVs.
Polestar’s big plan
By 2023, the company expects to sell 24,000 Polestar 3 units worldwide, followed by 67,000 in 2024 and 77,000 in 2025. In addition to the Polestar 3, the company plans to launch another SUV in 2023, the Porsche Macan-esque Polestar. 4, followed by the Polestar 5 flagship sedan in 2024. The Polestar 3 and 4 are expected to make up the bulk of the brand’s global sales, with the company forecasting combined sales of 160,000 units for the two SUVs by 2025.
The Polestar 3 won’t be officially unveiled until October, and deliveries are expected to begin in mid-2023.
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