Everything That Happened At Polestar Day 2023!
Today’s inaugural Polestar Day event hosted in Santa Monica generated optimism and an exciting outlook at what's to come for the budding EV brand. The Sypnotix was thrilled to be able to attend and take a closer look. Some things we expected, other things we were shocked to see in person. Here’s what we learned from the Swedish carmaker.
global manufacturing
With the Polestar 2 being built in China, Polestar faces many of the same manufacturing challenges that competing automobile makers have in today’s market. In 2021, Polestar announced that their SUV, the Polestar 3, will be built in South Carolina, USA. Polestar continues to expand their footprint in global manufacturing and announced today that its next vehicle, the Polestar 4 coupe SUV, will be built in a new factory in Busan, South Korea. The new factory will be the result of an agreement with Renault Korea Motors (RKM).
Today’s Polestar Day allowed guests to sit in and ride along as passengers in both the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4. While both vehicles were still very much designated as pre-production models, they were quite far along with their development and we were able to experience both vehicles on a road that a driver may actually drive on in Los Angeles. The Polestar 3 has an anticipated customer release date of early 2024 and is the larger SUV sibling to the currently released Polestar 2. Our most notable callouts for the Polestar 3 include the updated driver display, smooth suspension, and the roomy interior. The Polestar 4 has a sportier feel to it and while it resembles its Polestar 2 sibling from a side view (we mistaken it for a PS2 whenever it drives up to us), the interior is significantly different including its lack of a rearview window. Be sure to check out our YouTube video to see footage from today’s event and more on our thoughts and experience in both cars. We also got a special glimpse at the Polestar Roadster which will most certainly draw attention wherever it goes.
polestar synergy
While the Polestar Synergy was originally announced earlier this year, we weren’t anticipating seeing the vehicle at today’s event. Three winners were chosen in the most recent Polestar Design Contest and this Synergy design is the result of that. While we don’t anticipate that the Synergy will ever go into production, its unique design and solo driver cabin showcases Polestar’s roots in the racing industry and its desire to bring Scandinavian design to modern automobile aesthetics. It is without a doubt one of the most futuristic looking concept cars out there.
A look at the Polestar Synergy on display at Polestar Day
fast charging tests on the polestar 5
The Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 on display at the inaugural Polestar Event
While consumers can expect the Polestar 3 and 4 to be released over the next year or two, Polestar has already been hard at work designing the Polestar 5, a next generation sedan. In a collaboration with startup StoreDot, Polestar will be testing StoreDot’s extreme fast charging (XFC) cells in the vehicle to hopefully live up to their moniker of “100 in 5.” Using silicone, StoreDot claims that their technology will allow an electric vehicle to charge 100 miles for every 5 minutes of charging without impacting the health of the battery. They did a demo showcase live charging speeds and temperature management that seems promising for the future of EV batteries. The tests will be conducted first on the Polestar 5.
plans for polestar china
Finally, we learned a little more about how China Polestars will differ from its western counterparts. Polestar and their Chinese division tiptoed around the elephant in the room regarding the Asian country’s muddied relationship with Google. Without directly mentioning the Alphabet company as a reason for not running Android Automotive, we instead learned that the brand will be developing their own software. In conjunction with Chinese smartphone maker Meizu, which share the same parent company Geely (which also owns Polestar), PolestarOS will be a proprietary software created for exclusively for the Chinese market. The new OS will create an integrated experience and connect to the Polestar smartphone, which will also be produced by Meizu. Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing this software here in the US considering how Android powers our Polestar vehicles in the Western markets, but it is absolutely fascinating watching Polestar develop their own OS interface in such a short period of time. The company hopes to cashflow break-even by 2025. That’s a lofty goal and China will play a big part in whether the Swedish company can accomplish that feat.
Alex
Caught in between the conundrum of his fascination with retro and the future, Alex has a very unique taste in technology. Never one to follow trends like his millennial peers yet constantly desiring to get ahead of the curve, he sees technology like he does his other love: comic books. Always looking for the best value or a hidden gem, his collector mindset reflects on some of his favorite gadgets: the Moto X (2015), HTC U11 and the Google Pixelbook. If there’s a good tech deal out there, Alex is on the hunt!