Polestar 2 deliveries begin this month, but the fledgling brand has already had to make a spec adjustment.
The Chinese-Swedish brand has removed its Pixel LED headlights and cornering lights from the option list as a result of the semiconductor chip shortage.
These were included as part of the optional $5000 Pilot Pack.
The pack has now been renamed to Pilot Lite and has had its price reduced to $3400.
“We are reviewing all existing orders and identifying those affected. We will contact affected customers directly from week commencing 14 March 2022 to inform them of the feature change and compensation,” said a spokesperson for Polestar Australia.
“We continue to work to mitigate the impact of the global semiconductor shortage on our production, and to prioritise semiconductors in the best way we can.”
Deliveries of the new electric vehicle begin this month.
The spokesperson said there are no other spec changes to announce for the Polestar 2’s inaugural model year, and that there’s no timeframe for when the upgraded lighting will return.
Models can’t be retrofitted with the Pixel LED lights.
Polestar confirmed there are cars already in Australia or in transit that aren’t affected by this change.
The specification change affects all Polestar 2 models manufactured with the Pilot Pack from March 21, 2022 onwards, and for all markets bar the US and Canada.
The Pixel LED headlights included bending and adaptive high-beam functionality, while the LED fog lights included a cornering function.
All Polestar 2 models will now use full-LED headlights with automatic high-beam, however the Pilot Lite pack still bundles in LED fog lights albeit with no cornering function.
The switch in lighting also means the “welcome and farewell” lighting sequences have been replaced with a simple fade in and out.
The rest of the rechristened Pilot Lite package still includes:
- Adaptive cruise control
- Pilot Assist
- Surround-view camera
- Side parking sensors
- Blind-spot assist
- Rear cross-traffic assist
- LED front fog lights
It’s one of three option packages for the Polestar 2, with the others being the $6000 Plus Pack and the $8000 Performance Pack.
You can read a full breakdown in our 2022 Polestar 2 price and specs articles.
As the upgraded lighting was part of an option pack, there’s been no change to pricing. The range opens at $59,900 before on-road costs for the Standard Range Single Motor.
Polestar confirmed late last month its first deliveries will be of “pre-configured vehicles”.
In these times of short supply across the industry, Polestar Australia says it has 180 cars already in the country and ready to be placed into owners’ hands.
The company, which uses a direct-to-consumer sales model, will also offer a seven-day returns policy so long as the owner hasn’t done north of 500km. This complements five years of free servicing and warranty.
Polestar isn’t the first company to remove features due to the chip shortage.
Skoda has temporarily removed various features across most of its model lines, while Peugeot controversially removed side airbags from its Expert van.
Other brands that have made shortage-related spec changes include Ford and Volkswagen.
Keyword: Polestar 2 temporarily losing feature due to chip shortage