Summary
- Polestar focuses on adapting during the Chinese tariff war, preparing to launch a family of electric vehicles.
- The Polestar 3 aims to set itself apart by being design-driven, adding maturity to the brand’s fast-moving industry.
- Polestar is holding still amidst tariff war uncertainty, concentrating on the American-made Polestar 3 and discussions about future models.
With Canada now joining the U.S. in the Chinese tariff war, it has now become incredibly difficult for a Chinese carmaker to do business in North America. But the strict legislation isn’t only affecting brands originating from China, like BYD, or Nio.
Some carmakers currently selling vehicles on our market build them in China. Sure, Tesla can relocate U.S. production to some of its American and European plants, and Volvo has announced its plans to move EX30 production to Belgium to satisfy North American demand. But what about Polestar?
Except for the upcoming Polestar 3 SUV that’ll be built in South Carolina alongside the Volvo EX90, the all-electric premium brand still doesn’t have a North American facility for its most popular model, the Polestar 2, nor does it still have a U.S. or Canadian location for the upcoming Polestar 4, 5 and 6.
So, what’s next for Polestar? To find out, I had a chat with Dean Shaw, Head of PR & Communications at Polestar North America, and Hugues Bissonnette, Country Manager for Polestar Canada during the Polestar 3 Canadian launch event last week. In a nutshell, I learned that Polestar is currently observing how the world will shift next before making a move.
Polestar And The China Tariffs: Holding Still
The fact that Polestar is still a relatively young carmaker gives it more flexibility to adapt than a larger one. The Polestar 2 may be Polestar’s only vehicle at the moment, but we’re about to see the EV brand unleash a full family of electric vehicles (EVs), ranging from a midsize SUV to a sexy, two-seat roadster.
By the end of this year, the spotlight will be on the Polestar 3 (review coming soon); a two-row, midsize electric crossover heavily based on the three-row Volvo EX90. The Polestar 3 will aim at distinguishing itself from its corporate cousin by being more design-driven and driver-centric, the carmaker says. I drove the Polestar 3 last week on Vancouver Island, and I can’t wait to share my driving impressions with you once the embargo lifts next week.
The Polestar 3 will act as the next hot item for Polestar, a way for it to open up its lineup to more consumers by offering a utility vehicle, all while allowing the brand to gain maturity in this fast-moving industry. According to Hugues Bissonnette, the launch of the American made Polestar 3 comes at the right time.
He didn’t want to downright admit that it would act as a temporary band-aid amidst the current tariff war, but he emphasized the incredible flexibility and quick reaction times of the entire Volvo/Geely group behind Polestar. He also hinted at the fact that Polestar is currently holding still, waiting for what’s next. Bissonnette allured to the delay on tariffs and the incoming Presidential election later this fall.
You know, the world is changing fast. The U.S. government has delayed its tariff policy again, and who knows what will happen past the upcoming election? So there’s no rush, actually. We’ll see how all of this plays out first. For now, we’re focusing on Polestar 3.
About the Chinese-built Polestar 2. While still niche, the compact premium electric sedan has made big ripples since it first hit our market back in 2021. Each time I’ve personally driven the car, I’ve been pleased by the overall package, acting like some kind of cool, Scandinavian rival to the almighty Tesla Model 3, injected with the same sort of charming quirkiness as old Saabs.
Next-Generaiton Polestar 2 Could Be Built In The U.S.
Last year, Polestar sold close to 10,000 Polestar 2s in the U.S. alone. And in some heavily subsidized regions of North America, like Canada’s province of Quebec, the Polestar 2 is a serious bargain. How will this model survive what’s coming? Dean Shaw explained that there are currently no plans to build the Polestar 2 in the U.S. At least, not for this generation.
We have no current intention of building the Polestar 2 in the U.S. We still have no comment on what’s coming next for that car, but it’s likely that the next-generation Polestar 2 could be built in North America.
Both Hugues Bissonnette and Dean Shaw spoke about the upcoming Polestar 4 as being sort of a successor to the Polestar 2. While none of them confirmed that the carmarker would kill off its popular 2, they both highlighted how the 4 aims at grabbing parts of the 2’s market share. The Polestar 4, expected to arrive here some time next year, will be built at Polestar’s South-Korean plant, in Busan.
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