- Polestar is working on a small SUV to be called the Polestar 7
- The 7 will be built in Europe and replace the 2 as Polestar’s entry-level vehicle
- Polestar will launch the 5 midsize sedan and possibly the 6 sports car before the arrival of the 7
Swedish electric performance brand Polestar made several major announcements on Thursday, including confirmation that its next model, the Polestar 5 sedan, will arrive in 2025 and that its previously announced Polestar 7 model will be a small SUV.
Timing for the Polestar 7 wasn’t announced, but former CEO Thomas Ingenlath told Autocar last April that the 7 is anticipated for launch around 2027, at which point it would replace the current 2 hatchback as the brand’s entry-level vehicle.
The 5, a rival to the Porsche Taycan and high-end versions of the Tesla Model S, is already at a late stage of development. The design was previewed in 2020 with Polestar’s Precept concept car, and camouflaged prototypes suggest the production version will stay true to the lines of the original show car.
The 5 will use a platform developed in-house at Polestar. In terms of performance, Polestar has said it is targeting up to 884 hp from a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain. Such output will likely be reserved for a range-topping model.
Polestar 5 prototype ride
No further details on the 7 have been revealed apart from its classification as a small SUV built in Europe. This production location will enable it to avoid the steep tariffs currently placed on Polestar’s Chinese-made vehicles, which account for most of the automaker’s production. Polestar also builds the 3 midsize SUV in the U.S. and the 4 compact crossover in South Korea.
The 7 will likely utilize the SEA dedicated EV platform of Polestar parent company Geely. This platform underpins the 4 and the Volvo EX30 subcompact crossover. It is also employed in vehicles from Geely’s Zeekr brand. In the EX30, the platform enables 0-60 mph times as low as 3.4 seconds, aligning with Polestar’s performance focus.
The EX30 is currently built exclusively in China but Volvo is preparing its plant in Belgium to build the vehicle. This is also likely where the 7 will be built, if it ends up being related to the EX30.
2025 Volvo EX30
The design of the 7 will be one of the first from Philipp Römers, a former Audi designer who replaced Maximilian Missoni as Polestar’s design chief last August. Missoni left to take up a job at BMW. In a statement, Römers said the 7 will be everything Polestar customers have come to expect “in terms of design and performance.”
Before the 7 arrives, Polestar is expected to launch the 6 sports car. The 6 was previewed by the O2 concept car in 2022 and is expected to arrive in 2026. The 6 is expected to share a platform with the 5, and like that model deliver up to 884 hp.
Polestar 6 Concept AT 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Polestar stated that the arrival of new models, combined with a significant expansion of retail locations, will help it achieve its targeted sales growth of 30-35% between 2025 and 2027, as well as generate positive free cash flow after investments beyond 2027. In North America, the automaker plans to increase its number of stores from 36 to 57.
The automaker also anticipates growing revenue through the sale of carbon credits in certain regions. Simultaneously, it aims to reduce costs by transitioning from its current multi-platform strategy to relying on a single, highly flexible platform after 2027.