Following the successful launch of the Polestar 1, a hybrid sports saloon with serious styling and an equally attention-grabbing part-electric, part-petrol engine powertrain, Swedish Volvo offshoot Polestar is readying production of its first serious all-electric car.
The Polestar 2 is the marque’s first fully electric performance fastback and will be initially offered with 300 kW (408hp) and 660 Nm of power, all-wheel drive and a 78 kWh battery pack, which enables a a real-world range of 292-miles on the stringent WLTP test cycle.
Despite the challenges the automotive market currently faces from the COVID-19 pandemic, production of Polestar 2 has officially begun in Luqiao, China. For initial delivery into Europe, followed by China and North America. The Polestar 2 is the first electric vehicle to be produced by the recently established facility.
“The world is facing enormous upheaval in the face of the coronavirus pandemic,” Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said. “We start production now under these challenging circumstances, with a strong focus on the health and safety of our people. This is a great achievement and the result of huge efforts from the staff in the factory and the team securing the supply chain. I have a huge amount of respect for the entire team – thanks to them!”
On top of its impressive proposed electric range, the Polestar 2 is the world’s first car to feature a built-in infotainment system powered by Android, featuring Google Maps, Google Assistant and the Google Play Store.
Developed in conjunction with the tech giant, this innovative infotainment system offers natural speech recognition and will roll-out advanced levels of AI features in the future, meaning the car will adapt and learn the behaviours of its owners over time. Plus, the Swedish marque is moving away from traditional premium materials, such as leather, in favour of vegan cloths and technical fabrics, which will come as standard.
Priced from £49,000, the Polestar 2 is available to order now online, with first deliveries expected in the summer.
Keyword: Production of the hotly-anticipated Polestar 2 officially begins