Volvo Reveals Polestar 2: Fully Electric & First Google Android Car

Swedish carmaker Volvo’s newest brand, Polestar, took the sheets off its all-electric Polestar 2.

Not taking the competitor like Tesla lightly, Polestar has done some really interesting rethinking of how an electric car should be.

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“Polestar 2 is our first fully electric car and first volume model. Everything about it has been designed and engineered with passion and dedication. As an electric performance brand, and through the forthcoming launch of a portfolio of fully electric cars, Polestar is determined to address the world’s air quality challenges. Polestar delivers electric performance cars that are great to own and drive,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar.

Polestar 2 is a premium five-door fastback with two electric motors and a 78 kWh battery capacity and the company says that this will enable a targeted range of 500 km for the car which is based on Volvo Car Group’s adaptable Compact Modular Architecture platform (CMA). The 27-module battery pack is integrated into the floor and contributes to the rigidity of the chassis and reduce car’s noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels. Volvo says road noise can been reduced by 3.7 dB compared to a traditional chassis.

Polestar 2 is one of the first cars in the world to embed an infotainment system powered by Android. This means Polestar 2 will have a full-blown operating system instead of a single app, which will be built into the car’s hardware instead of running on the owners’ smartphone.

Earlier Volvo had announced that it will make the Polestar 1, its plug-in hybrid sports car, available in the United States toward the end of 2019.

The base price for the Polestar 2 will be 40,000 euros, around $45,000(~Rs.32 Lakhs). That puts it on par with the pricing for Tesla’s comparable Model 3.

The Production for the Polestar 2 will start in early 2020 in China for global markets in both left- and right-hand drive. Polestar 2 will make its first public appearance at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show in March. Initial launch markets include China, the United States, Canada, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK. The company, however, did add that other markets are under consideration for future expansion.