2022 Polestar 2 confirmed for Australia: Volvo's performance electric arm to arrive with Hyundai Ioniq 5, VW ID.4 and Kia EV6 rival before year's end

Representatives from the newly-launched Australian arm of Volvo’s Polestar electric sub-brand confirmed the Swedish division’s first vehicle would arrive in November 2021 at an event in Sydney.

After much speculation on if and when Volvo would expand to include its performance electric brand in Australia, the brand’s newly-appointed local boss Samantha Jones said: “Polestar sees considerable potential in the Australian market, which is why it will be one of the first markets to launch as part of the company’s Asia Pacific expansion.”

The brand will launch with the Polestar 2 coupe SUV, which sports unique almost sedan-like styling with a focus on both sporty dynamics and luxury appointments. The brand has recently expanded the Polestar 2 range internationally, which now consists of three variants.

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The entry-level standard range has a 165kW/330Nm motor supported by a 64kWh battery pack, which is good for up to 440km of WLTP-measured range. The mid-tier upgrades the motor to 170kW/330Nm and the battery to 78kWh, offering an estimated range of 540km, while the top-spec dual motor nearly doubles outputs to 300kW/660Nm with the same 78kWh battery pack, offering an estimated 480km of range.

The two single motor vehicles have estimated consumption figures of 18.3kWh/100km, while the dual motor vehicle has an estimated consumption number of 20.3kWh/100km.

The premium Swedish brand was not ready to talk about pricing and variants in Australia yet, but confirmed that it would adopt the same all-online purchasing model as used overseas, which should take buyers “around an hour” to complete.

Polestar also confirmed it will also have physical retail stores, dubbed “Polestar Spaces”, staffed not by dealers but Polestar staff with “no sales incentives or pressures”. It was not made clear where or in which cities the retail centres would launch this year.

For an idea of the price-point of these vehicles, “reference pricing” in Europe lands each variant between the equivalent of A$71,663 and A$81,113, which does not include any local landing, taxes or shipping costs. The Polestar 2 will be sourced from its own factory in China for the Australian market.

The brand has recently expanded the Polestar 2 range internationally, which now consists of three variants.

Internationally available options include a ‘Performance Pack’ for the top-spec dual motor only, which upgrades brakes, dampers, wheels and detailing. All variants can be equipped with the ‘Plus Pack’, which includes more luxury focused appointments like a panoramic sunroof, Harman Kardon audio system, upgraded upholstery, and heated seats front and rear. Finally, the ‘Pilot Pack’ is more safety focused, and includes upgraded LED headlights and foglights, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree camera, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and reverse auto braking.

The Polestar 2 wears a maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating and standard features include high-speed auto braking with vulnerable user detection and lane support features, as well as eight airbags and “innovative structural safety developments”.

The local arm also confirmed the brand’s first car, the Polestar 1 coupe, would not be built in right-hand drive, and would in fact end production internationally shortly.

Polestar will debut locally in November.

Polestar’s representatives also reiterated the message of the brand, which is one of sustainability and transparency. As such, it is open about how much CO2 is required to build each car and how long it would take to offset an equivalent combustion vehicle. For those interested, in the case of the Polestar 2 it would take 26.2 tonnes of CO2 to build, and the car would need to travel 112,000km before it starts to offset emissions as per the average global power mix. This is slashed to just 50,000km if it is powered by wind alone as it can be in some locations in Europe.

The brand also uses blockchain technology to trace the use of Cobalt – a controversially-sourced material required for battery construction. In the future it says it will use blockchain to track other materials and ensure that more of the car is recycled.

Stay tuned for pricing, specs, and variants as we get closer to Polestar’s Australian debut in November.