Electric car manufacturer Polestar has released a second teaser image of the forthcoming Polestar 3 electric performance SUV, which is set to launch in 2022, according to a Dec. 2 news release.

Polestar 3 is the company’s first SUV and will be its first vehicle to be built in the U.S., with production in Charleston, S.C.

This news follows the September announcement of Polestar’s intention to list on Nasdaq in connection with its proposed business combination with Gores Guggenheim, Inc. (Nasdaq: GGPI, GGPIW, and GGPIU), which is expected to close in the first half of 2022.

“We will build in America for Americans,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO. “Polestar 3 is planned to be launched in 2022 as a premium electric performance SUV that will define the look of SUVs in the electric age. It will also be the first Polestar vehicle to be built in America.”

Ingenlath hosted investors and press at a series of events in New York to discuss the company’s vision, brand and growth plans. The audience learned that Polestar 3 is intended to be one of the most climate-responsible cars ever made and will in time offer autonomous highway piloting powered by the best-in-class LiDAR sensor from Luminar and centralized NVIDIA computing power.

The premium SUV market is the fastest growing segment in the U.S. automotive industry and is expected to be one of the most rapid to adopt fully electric vehicles.

Polestar Precept, the company’s manifesto concept car that previews the future of its design, technology and sustainability, also made its U.S. debut in New York City. Precept now embarks on a national tour, visiting Polestar retail locations nationwide into the new year.

Ingenlath told audiences he believes there is a fundamental difference between Polestar and many other electric car companies. “We are not a virtual company waiting to build factories and sell cars; we are an actual company already building and selling cars around the world. Our two award-winning cars are on the road in 14 markets globally and we expect our global sales volume to reach around 29,000 vehicles this year.”

He also underlined the company’s established manufacturing and sales capability, expressing that Polestar is planning to launch a new car every year for the next three years, starting with Polestar 3, and plans to increase its presence to at least 30 global markets by the end of 2023. 

Expanding presence in these new markets, the arrival of three new cars, and further advances in its existing markets mean that Polestar plans to grow 10-fold from global sales of around 29,000 in 2021 to 290,000 by 2025. “From here on in, Polestar is all about growth,” concludes Thomas Ingenlath.

Polestar 3 will be built at the Volvo Cars plant in Charleston, S.C. Volvo Cars is a large shareholder in Polestar, allowing Polestar to benefit from the Swedish company’s safety technologies, but also generate cost efficiencies through financial and industrial synergies.

Polestar Outlines Plans for the 2020s

Polestar was established as a new, standalone Swedish premium electric vehicle manufacturer in 2017. Founded by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding, Polestar enjoys specific technological and engineering synergies with Volvo Cars and benefits from significant economies of scale as a result.

Polestar, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, has its vehicles available and on the road in markets across Europe, North America,China and Asia Pacific. By 2023, the company plans to be present in 30 global markets. Polestar cars are now manufactured in two facilities in China, with additional future manufacturing planned in the USA.

In the U.S., the local Polestar office is located in the New York metro area, in Mahwah, N.J. Polestar Spaces have been opened in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Orange County, Calif.; New York City; Denver, Boston; Central and Southern New Jersey; Dallas, Austin, Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle, Atlanta, Charlotte, Connecticut, South Florida, and Washington D.C., with more to follow in Central California, the Pacific Northwest, and Hawaii.

Polestar has produced two electric performance cars. The Polestar 1 was built between 2019 and 2021 asa low-volume electric performance hybrid GT with a carbon fiber body, 619 hp, 738 lb-ft of torque, and an electric-only range of 52 miles (EPA) – the longest of any hybrid car in the world.

The Polestar 2 electric performance fastback is the company’s first fully electric, high volume car. The Polestar 2 model range includes three variants with a combination of long- and standard range batteries as large as 78 kWh, and dual- and single-motor powertrains with as much as 408 hp and 487 lb-ft of torque.

In the coming three years, Polestar plans to launch one new electric vehicle per year, starting with Polestar 3 in 2022. Polestar 4 is expected to follow in 2023, a smaller electric performance SUV coupe.

In 2024, the Polestar 5 electric performance 4-door GT is planned to be launched as the production evolution of Polestar Precept – the manifesto concept car that Polestar released in 2020. As the company seeks to reduce its climate impact with every new model, Polestar aims to produce a truly climate-neutral car by 2030.