Thursday, November 4, 2021

Electric cars: Polestar

Polestar is a Swedish automotive brand established in 1996 by Volvo Cars' partner Flash/Polestar Racing and acquired in 2015 by Volvo, which itself was acquired by Geely in 2010. Geely describes the Polestar brand as "independent" from 2017 onwards and "co-owned" by it and Volvo Cars.
  • Founded: 1996
  • Headquarters: Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Parent organizations: Geely, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (China)
  • Volvo was going bankrupt in the late 1990s and Sweden would not bail them out. So Ford bought Volvo in 1999 and then sold it to the Chinese company (Geely Motors) in 2010.
  • The Polestar 1 will be built at the rate of one or two per shift at a new Polestar specific plant in China.
Polestar signed an agreement in late September 2021 to be publicly listed through combination with Gores Guggenheim (GGPI), valuing the company at $20B.
Polestar will be 83% owned by the Chinese company Geely and the cars are being made in China. As reported, only 3.5% of the stock is available to the public.

Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath with the Precept

The Precept made its North American debut at a New York event Dec. 2. The car is a precursor of Polestar’s future design direction, and will reach production in modified form as the Polestar 5 in 2024. 


Over the next three years, the company plans to add three vehicles to its current model, the compact Polestar 2 crossover built in China. The additions are a large SUV, the Polestar 3; a midsize crossover, the Polestar 4; and a large sedan, the Polestar 5, which is intended to serve as the brand’s flagship vehicle.

All will be fully electric and all will be offered in the U.S., Europe and China. Polestar plans to build its vehicles in all three regions.


The Polestar 1's wheels measure 21 inches in diameter, fitted with 275/30 and 295/30 (rear) Pirelli P Zeros.



As it creates an identity separate from Volvo, Polestar is going public in a SPAC deal that will close early next year and implies an enterprise value for the company of $20 billion. Polestar has 25 showrooms in the U.S. now, but will grow that to 38 in 2022 and eventually 50, with access to 800 service centers. Customers in the U.S. will get home delivery, plus pickup and return for servicing. Polestar projects that 40 percent of its sales will be in Europe and the Middle East, 30 percent in Asia, and 30 percent in North America. 

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