The Story Behind The New Radical Electric Car Brand Polestar

The Story Behind The New Radical Electric Car Brand Polestar

Nargess Banks , Contributor I cover cars and design — and where they intersect Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Polestar

Thomas Ingenlath with Polestar 1 at the Geneva Motor Show

“We need to make brave decisions and stand by them,” starts Thomas Ingenlath referring to Polestar. The new car brand was announced last October as an independent electric company to sit alongside Volvo in the Geely Auto family. I am meeting the chief executive officer in Geneva on the marque's debut motor show stand. On the one side is Volvo’s pavilion – serene, clad in classic Scandinavian light natural wood. In contrast, the Polestar stand is cold, dark, minimalist, mysterious, exhibiting the company’s sole model the Polestar 1 in clinical white.

When he first saw the exhibition space, Ingenlath couldn’t contain his excitement. The white of Polestar 1 magnifies the technical feel of this space, the only element of color here is Ingenlath’s bold mustard suite which looks like it has been carefully selected to match certain accents of the car. “We wanted to make a show stand that isn’t overcrowded. Of course, we don’t have many products at this stage but the idea is to get out of the traditional motor show behavior of loud music and lots of spotlights. Instead we are treating the car with more respect, allowing it the right light and space to breathe.”

Polestar

Polestar 1 is the first product to be born into the electric brand

The Polestar 1 is a grand touring coupé based on Volvo's Concept Coupé - the 600-horsepower electric performance hybrid powertrain promises 150 km (93 miles) of pure electric range. The company plans to build a maximum of 500 of this $182,000 car annually at the new facility in Chengdu, China which will begin production later this year. The building is the work of Norwegian architect practice Snöhetta and promises to be the most sustainable car factory in the country.

Polestar

Inside Polestar 1, the first product from the new car company

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Ingenlath says, “the facility is modern, progressive, technically advanced and environmentally responsible. It will be an embodiment of the Polestar brand.” He feels the spirit of the new company owes much to Geely. The Chinese, he feels, are generally more open to a business adventure like this. “The idea for a company like Geely to say Polestar will be stand-alone, that it will develop on its own, to be this brave and set up a new brand doesn’t happen that often.”

Polestar

The visual expression reflects the trend for more refined and reduced design

The visual expression of Polestar speaks of its Volvo Scandinavian heritage but is also a reflection of the general trend for more refined and reduced design. Ingenlath explains: “Four years ago, we would have had big discussions on how such purity of design will resonate with the Chinese culture. Nowadays that has pretty much gone. The idea of pure product expression, something that we proved with the success of Volvo products, is an international expression now seen in architecture, design and fashion.”

Polestar

The Polestar grille will become a "smart zone" in the future

Ingenlath is very much aware of the selling powers of Scandinavian design having held the position of vice president of design at Volvo in Sweden before taking on Polestar challenge. He believes he has a chance to be more daring here with technical materials. “You could say the brand is masculine,” he says then agreeing the term technical is possibly more of an appropriate one for Polestar. “We have a super reduced clear-cut style here.”
The Polestar 1 retains a classic car vernacular replete with a grille at the front, an element that is not so essential in an electric car. I ask if he plans to retain this in the future. “The grille will make an interesting story,” he smiles. “Yes, we could take it away but I feel the car needs a face with eyes, a nose and a mouth. Looking ahead we will bring new functions and features into what has essentially been an air intake to make it more of a smart zone. The grille will have a meaningful purpose.”

Polestar

The eco Polestar production center by architect Snöhetta will open in China

As with any new company there is an air of excitement here. I ask Ingenlath where he sees the brand heading. “Our journey starts with the Polestar 1, a car that is connected to Concept Coupé. For the Polestar 2 though you will see how the design and interior will evolve.” Ingenlath makes it very clear that customers will not have a free reign inside Polestar cars. Instead his team will direct design themes. “I think for a company with such an appreciation of great design we have to make very clear choices. If you have a certain ambiance created in the interior you cannot allow the customer to come along and alter this. I think we take away an incredible headache for customer of being lost in the sheer amount of choice they have these days. I don’t believe this is a positive experience.”

Polestar

The Polestar 1 design is based on the Volvo Concept Coupé

Ingenlath doesn’t like branding Polestar customers but feels they need to be progressive and open minded and not tied down by heritage brands. Not surprisingly Tesla is a company he much admires as he does Spotify, the Scandinavian tech giant that has altered how we listen and own music. “We have an interesting offer for a younger audience especially in how we treat the HMI (human machine interface) - a big topic for us. On the other hand, the educated customer of a certain age can also be interested in technology.”
The ambition is to keep the purity, this uncompromised approach, alive. “This is what we feel people will desire and what resonates with this brand,” says Ingenlath. As a parting note, I ask the car designer and CEO his thoughts on the Polestar 2 and the products that follow which can now be sketched on a clean sheet of paper. He retorts: “Let us not kid ourselves - there are always boundaries set by technology. Design is about giving meaning and artistry to technology. We have gained some freedom with the electric drivetrain but not to the degree that the aesthetics of the car will change. It requires another development and that is autonomous driving which will open the doors to radical design,” he offers before adding, “however, the car without a steering wheel is not the core of Polestar's business.”