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Thomas Ingenlath is having perhaps a little too much playfulness in his Polestar 3 , silently rocket aside from stop signs and swinging through tightening bend dexter , grinning like a humankind far younger than his 59 years of old age .
“ You really can push this car , ” the Polestar CEO says as he cruises the roads alongside other enthusiasts near Spanish Bay north of Pebble Beach during Monterey Car Week . Throughout the driveway , he praise the SUV ’s power to be both comfortable and liquid while still drive home the piquant manipulation that buyer of the sword ’s first two car , the hybrid Polestar 1 and electric Polestar 2 , have add up to know and love .
In his neutral - hued suit , he almost blends into the pale interior of the full - size SUV , the yellow seatbelt across his pectus providing the only dividing line . It ’s an aesthetic that equal the attitude of the car itself : a agio , minimalist feel with the sharp performance typical of Polestar simple machine .
Safe EV ground, shifting political sands
But the Polestar 3 scar a novel way onward for the brand on U.S. street . Though the motorcar that Ingenlath hustles through dealings in Monterey was built in China , the first American - assembled Polestar 3 SUVs are just jump to cast off the factory lines atPolestar ’s flora in Ridgeville , South Carolina .
That same factory has long made cars for Volvo , which is owned by China ’s Geely Holding . Polestar — a spinoff of Volvo that ’s headquarter in Sweden and also under Geely — now shares the space as it zooms forrard in the United States amid headwind from the recently enforce tariffs on Chinese EVs .
Indeed , while the caller ’s Polestar 2 is build up in Gothenburg , all American - grocery store Polestar 3 SUVs will come from South Carolina .
“ polar star 3 product is , I call it , on safe ground , ” Ingenlath says .
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secure background , perhaps , but undoubtedly switch sand . Ingenlath learn EV need in the U.S. grocery store as evolving and require some forbearance : “ How fast will that develop ? We have to see , ” he says . “ but it ’s certainly not something that worry me about the purpose of our ship’s company . ”
Ingenlath says he would sleep with for acceptance rates to be even higher here , of course , but he ’d be well-chosen if United States political sympathies could be “ a bit more consistent . ”
He ’s take in the election closely . “ All the interference around it is just disturbing , ” he muses . “ When you do a premium auto sword , you require eubstance . You require consistence in your model politics and your pricing and stuff , and of row , we would love , as well , for us to have a much more stable base for decision - making . And you’re able to not , you recognise , respond on a weekly , monthly basis . You necessitate years … to make meaningful economic decisions . ”
Cars like the Polestar 3 take upwardly of five years to design and arise . Moves like the new tariffs on Chinese - made eV import to the U.S. — which sprung up much overnight — are a real threat .
Funding for EVs
That ’s just one challenge Polestar has faced lately . At the beginning of 2024 , Volvo divested a significant portion of its holdings in the companionship . It ’s a move that Ingenlath downplays , noting that Volvo still control roughly 18 % of the fellowship . “ That ’s not peanut , ” he says . “ If you own 20 % of a fellowship , you ’re passably interested in how the company is doing . ”
Polestar hasturned to banking company for a $ 1 billion loanto keep things on track . Ingenlath says that this variety in ownership has n’t result in his pass the business otherwise . Still , he suppose , it ’s always good to sharpen on the fundamental .
“ It ’s authoritative now to show them writ of execution capability , ” Ingenlath remark of his indebtedness to the banks , “ that we have these superb cars add up out , that we have the market successfully launch a car , delivering and selling . ”
Ingenlath decline to say whether Polestar might need more financing to execute that plan but tell his focus now is making Polestar “ ego - sustaining . ”
A bet on SUVs
ThePolestar 3is integral to that design . Though thePolestar 2is a sweet - drive , clean - look sedan , it ’s playing in a mart dominated by SUVs in the U.S. Ingenlath calls it “ rather a compact European sedan chair here , which will not fulfill the pauperization of a family . ”
The Polestar 3 should do advantageously in that regard , at least for families that can give its $ 73,400 start price . The fomite is much larger , more upright and spacious than the Polestar 2 , and still prognosticate a gustatory modality of the same driving reference .
significantly , sales growth is call for to set the stage for Polestar ’s next releases .
The iterative nomenclature continues with thePolestar 4 , a lowly SUV that trades some of the Polestar 4 ’s volume ( and all of its rearward visibility ) for a dramatically sweeping roofline and a more affordable price point in time , starting at $ 54,900 .
After that comes thePolestar 5 , a sporty , fashionable sedan that tie into the brand ’s conception - forward focus , an property that Ingenlath says is more important to the line of work than federal EV subsidy . “ We should lure the great unwashed behind the wheel of a Polestar , purchase our products , because they ’re just so damn desirable , and they need to have them , ” he say .
The Polestar 4 is go under to make it later this twelvemonth , with the Polestar 5 coming in 2025 . It ’s an aggressive timeline considering the Polestar 2 has effectively been the ship’s company ’s lone offer in the U.S. marketplace for nearly four years .
That was n’t supposed to be the plan . The Polestar 3 has seen important delays thanks tosoftware issuesthat has also sidelined its corporate sibling , theVolvo EX90 . Still , Ingenlath aver that engineering sharing with Volvo is a primal part of Polestar ’s ability to iterate quickly .
“ Why would we develop ADAS systems ourselves ? ” he ask . “ Of of course , Volvo delivers here a technology base which is fantabulous for that premium fomite that we desire to build . ”
That technology sharing will go on despite Volvo ’s partial divestment . Volvo is n’t its only spouse . Polestar was an early adopter ofAndroid Automotive , effectively turn over all the in - car interface over to Google .
“ That ’s one of the nicest and smoothest success fib of actually apply technology , ” he allege , a decision that was initially met with disbelief . “ mass were like , ‘ Oh , what are you doing ? Are you really going in seam with Google ? Blah , blah , blah . ’ There were so many raised eyebrows about that . Jesus , our customers make love it . It ’s such a step forward in term of ease of use . ”
The real step forward for Polestar will be the long - look release of the Polestar 3 , something that Ingenlath says will now pass within “ weeks . ”
