Volvo’s performance brand fills in some details
After making a grand debut at the Shanghai auto show in October with the Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid sports coupe, Volvo’s performance brand fleshed out its ambitious plans to Motor Trend at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
At the launch of the Polestar 1, we learned several more vehicles are already in development. Now, we’ve learned they’ll be on the road sooner than expected. Polestar says it’s aiming to launch the Polestar 1 by the end of next year, with the first deliveries taking place in early 2019. By the end of 2019, a second model, the all-electric Polestar 2 midsize luxury sedan, will launch aimed at the Tesla Model 3. The all-electric Polestar 3 crossover will quickly follow in 2020, followed by the Polestar 4 by the end of that year. The fourth model’s body style hasn’t been revealed, but we understand a convertible has been mocked-up. Polestar tells us all four cars have been modeled and are awaiting the final design freeze.
Enabling Polestar to roll out so many vehicles so quickly is their shared SPA and compact modular platforms borrowed from Volvo. Using just two common architectures that are already fully engineered for EV powertrains allows Polestar to focus on the body that goes on top and the powertrain that plugs-in underneath. In fact, Polestar says it’s developing its modular EV powertrain semi-independently of the vehicles it’ll go into so that the absolute latest battery and motor technology can be dropped into each model as late as possible in the development cycle.
All the while, Polestar will still be working on Volvos. Polestar performance parts will be available right from the factory going forward rather than being dealer-installed like they are now. Polestar likened the new strategy to BMW’s M Sport line of performance goodies. Polestar will also occasionally engineer a full Polestar edition high-performance Volvo such as the S60 Polestar and V60 Polestar. Whether Polestar edition Volvos will carry the traditional blue square badge or the new North Star logo of the Polestar brand vehicles is still being decided, but we understand the new logo is likely to win out.
Polestar also shed more light on its subscription ownership plans. Similar to the just-announced Care by Volvo, all Polestar brand vehicles will be “sold” online, where the owner will sign up for a two- or three-year subscription. Similar to a lease, the subscription will include maintenance, insurance, tires, repairs, and concierge services such as free car washes all for a flat monthly fee with no down payment. Unlike Volvo, Polestar will offer different subscription tiers. The first level will be similar to Care with a few extra perks. Higher tiers are still being discussed but could include the ability to swap to a different Polestar vehicle at any time or to have a Polestar vehicle of your choice waiting for you at your destination when you go on vacation. This plan does rest, however, on the success of Care by Volvo. Polestar is considering more traditional sales plans in the event subscription ownership doesn’t catch on.
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