Polestar has set its sights on Porsche.
In an interview with German publication Auto Motor Sport, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath claims that the company will be competing with the iconic brand in the next five years.
“We are competing with Porsche for the best electrically powered premium sports car,” said Ingenlath when prompted on where Polestar will be in five years.
Polestar has only built two models so far, the now-discontinued Polestar 1 coupe and the soon-to-arrive Polestar 2 sedan.
There are also three new all-electric models on the way set to launch by 2024, tentatively called the Polestar 3, Polestar 4 and the Polestar 5.
The Polestar 3 will launch in 2022, and has already been confirmed to be a sleeker, two-row counterpart to the next-generation Volvo XC90.
The Polestar 4 will be smaller and cheaper than the 3, with more coupe-like styling according to Ingenlath.
Lastly, the Polestar 5 will arrive in 2024 and will be the production version of the Precept concept, a sleek four-door grand tourer. Its body has already been teased.
With the help of these new EV models, Ingenlath is hoping to bring the fight to the well-established German manufacturer.
So far Porsche only produces one EV model, the Taycan, but reportedly has plans to launch an all-electric Macan, as well as all-electric 718 Cayman and Boxster models.
Polestar Precept prototype
Besides these rivalry claims, Polestar has another huge goal to achieve – which is to be producing carbon neutral cars by 2030.
The plan, called Project 0, entails eliminating all emissions that go into production of every Polestar vehicle, as well as creating the company’s first climate neutral car by 2030.
“Electric cars are not environmentally friendly per se,” said Ingenlath.
“But electric cars pave the way to a clean planet.”
The company faces a number of challenges currently including the fact that all production of Polestar vehicles is done in China.
To combat this, Ingenlath said that the company will bring its cars to Germany by rail in the future.
He also predicts that Polestar may use Volvo’s existing manufacturing plants in the future.
Polestar 3 teaser
“If our sales volume continues to grow like this, I am confident that we will be able to use our production network and that we will also be able to manufacture in one of the Volvo plants in Europe in the future,” said Ingenlath.
The company has already confirmed that its Polestar 3 will be produced in the US at Volvo’s South Carolina plant.
In 2020, Polestar sold 10,000 cars across the world. It’s planning to sell roughly 290,000 per year by 2025.
Volvo currently holds a 49.5 per cent stake in Polestar, while parent company Geely is Polestar’s second largest shareholder.
Polestar also confirmed that it’s going public in a deal that values the company at US$20 billion (AU$27 billion).
It’ll merge with Gores Guggenheim, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) run by two private equity firms that’s already listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
It’s not clear when this merger will be completed, but when it’s done it will give Polestar access to the SPAC’s US$800 million (AU$1.1 billion), as well as US$250 million (AU$340 million) in promised fresh investment.
