Polestar boss Michael Lohscheller "does not worry at all" about the brand being able to maintain its premium billing – and separation from sibling Volvo – as it eyes a huge volume uptick with expansion into more mainstream segments.
The Swedish EV maker's current line-up is weighted towards the premium end of the spectrum and inherently oriented towards lower-volume segments than those occupied by Volvo, from which it was hived off in 2017.
But Polestar has plans to substantially grow its global market share and is poised to dramatically swell its sales volumes with an estate version of its 4 crossover and a compact SUV closely related to an equivalent Volvo, badged the 7.
The move is part of a strategy to achieve 100,000 sales per year, up from 60,000 in 2025, in line with a push to recover from heavy losses and set the brand on a path to sustained profitability.
But Lohscheller, speaking exclusively to Autocar, said the substantial growth ambitions and addition of more mainstream-oriented models won't come at the expense of Polestar's premium, sporting positioning - ensuring it remains obviously distinct from Volvo, even as it enters the same segments.
Explaining that bespoke design and tuning will continue to be central to Polestar's strategy, he said each of the brand's upcoming cars will be obviously distinct from both competitors and the cars with which they share their platforms and technology.
"We have four cars in the next three years. Polestar 5, you can't find a more unique car than that one. Our new [estate] version of the Polestar 4 SUV is also so distinct, so different; I don't worry about any cross-shopping or cannibalisation. The Polestar 2 successor is the same thing, so unique and very, very special. And then the Polestar 4 compact SUV is super-cool; but also there we will make sure that it completely stands out.
"I think our design really is good and very different. We don't want to do cars for everybody; we want to do unique cars."
Asked if Polestar was able to continue applying bespoke dynamics to shared Geely group architectures, he said: "We put the Polestar DNA in the car, starting with design. That's the reason we stay in Sweden; you think we like nine-month dark winters? We do it because it's all about the Polestar DNA in terms of design, but also chassis tuning - all the suspension topics and so on."
Polestar will reveal the 4 estate in the coming months, shortly after the commercial launch of its new 5 GT flagship.
