Polestar was one of the earlier brands to offer high performance with electrification as seen on the Polestar 1 grand touring hybrid equipped with 1,000 hp. The brand started as a performance arm of Volvo Cars, like BMW M Sport, Audi S-Line, and Mercedes’ AMG Line, but has since moved to full-fledged vehicles since the birth of the Polestar 1.
The next phase of the brand’s expansion will see the need to further push the performance envelope even further. In an interview with Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport that was picked up by Carscoops, the head of the Polestar said his team is focussing on Porsche as its benchmark.
“We are competing with Porsche for the best electrically powered premium sports car,” said Polestar, CEO, Thomas Ingenlath.
Polestar currently only have the Polestar 1 grand touring hybrid and Polestar 2 fastback. The brand will see the launch of the Polestar 3 SUV as soon as next year, as well as two more models by 2024.
Porsche’s only EV, the Taycan, will be heavily benchmarked by the Polestar team now that dynamic evaluation and development work of the Precept performance four-door sedan that is due in 2023 has begun.
Ingenlath also said separation from the Volvo brand will be increased with every new model, physical stores as well as communications.
“Our product portfolio will grow over the next few years – and this will allow the brand to appear in a completely different light,” he said. “We then step out of the shadow of Volvo even more and are perceived even more independently.”
The Polestar 3 performance SUV, targeted squarely at BMW iX, Ford Mustang Mach-e as well as the upcoming new-generation Porsche Macan will be manufactured in the US at the relatively new Volvo Cars production centre in Ridgeville, South Carolina.
