Polestar Shares the First Image of the Polestar 3 Electric SUV Ahead of its October Debut

author: FutureCar Staff    

The first image of the Polestar 3 electric SUV.

Electric performance automaker Polestar has announced that the world premiere of its next electric vehicle, the Polestar 3 electric-performance SUV, will be in October 2022. Although details of the forthcoming Polestar 3 were shared at a media event in New York in Dec 2021, The company released the first uncamouflaged look at the electric SUV on Tuesday. 

The Polestar 3 is the company's first SUV following the launch of the Polestar 2 fastback. The company will be entering one of the biggest vehicle segments in the U.S. as crossovers and compact SUVs remain widely popular with consumers. 

The premium SUV market is one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. auto industry and is expected to be one of the most rapid to adopt fully electric vehicles, according to Polestar. 

The launch of the Polestar 3 next year means that segment leader Tesla will face more competition in the premium-electric vehicle segment.The Polestar 3 will be a direct competitor to the Tesla Model Y, as well as Ford's Mustang Mach E. 

At launch, Polestar 3 will be offered with a dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain and a large battery with a range target of 372 miles. Customers will be able to order Polestar 3 in initial launch markets from the day of the world premiere. 

"This is a major milestone for our company, one that boosts our growth trajectory and takes us into our next phase," said Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath. 

The Polestar 3 will also be the first Polestar vehicle built in the U.S., with production set to take place in early 2023 at Volvo's factory in Charleston, South Carolina. All of the Polestar 3 vehicles built in South Carolina will be sold in the U.S., the company said.

The electric SUV will also be built in China for the local market.

The Polestar 2 fastback was recognized as the world's first vehicle to come with Google's new Android Automotive OS embedded in the vehicle's infotainment system. It allows drivers and passengers to access popular Google services such as Maps, YouTube Music, Gmail and Assistant without having to sync a smartphone. 

The Polestar 3 will also feature connectivity features based on Android Automotive OS, as well as high-end, safety-focused autonomous driving features, the company said. It will offer autonomous highway driving powered by a centralized NVIDIA DRIVE processor with integrated LiDAR from Polestar's partner Luminar. It will be one of the world's first EV's equipped with lidar during production to support autonomous driving functions.

The Polestar 3 will be a software-based vehicle capable of receiving regular over-the-air software updates.

Polestar is the new standalone EV brand jointly operated by Sweden's Volvo Cars with support from its parent company Chinese automaker Geely Holding. The company was founded in 2017 as a new electric-performance brand to compete with Tesla and other EV startups such as China's XPeng and NIO Inc.   

"Polestar 3 is the SUV for the electric age. Our design identity evolves with this high-end large luxury EV, with a strong, individual brand character," said Ingenlath. "With this car, we bring the ‘sport' back to the SUV, staying true to our performance roots."

Polestar plans to launch a new vehicle every year for the next three years, starting with Polestar 3, and aims to increase its presence to at least 30 global markets by the end of 2023. 

The new SUV supports Polestar's plans to grow its EV sales by ten-fold from approximately 29,000 EVs in 2021 to approximately 290,000 by the end of 2025.

In 2024, the Polestar 5 electric performance 4-door sedan is planned to be launched as the production version of Polestar Precept concept. The electric sedan showcases Polestar's future vision in terms of design, technology, and sustainability. 

In April, car rental company Hertz announced that it will purchase up to 65,000 vehicles from Polestar over the next five years. Availability of the Polestar vehicles is expected to begin this Spring in Europe and late 2022 in North America and Australia. 

Polestar also aims to launch a U.S. IPO this year to raise capital on Wall Street. The automaker intends to list on the Nasdaq in a proposed business combination with Gores Guggenheim, Inc., which is expected to close in the second half of 2022.

FutureCar Staff