Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller said the EV maker will prioritize working on its Polestar 7 over the roadster model.
The premium brand of the Chinese Geely Holding Group intends to enter the compact SUV segment in Europe, where it has 75% of its sales.
In an interview with UK media outlet Autocar, the brand’s chief executive said that the Polestar 7, unlike the Polestar 6 roadster, will give the company its biggest volume potential yet, as prices go lower.
Lohscheller said the design of the Polestar 7 is set to be “very different” from its current models, as it plans to attract both younger and female customers, admitting Polestar “is quite a performance brand” at the moment.
Talking about the Polestar 6, the chief executive confirmed the brand’s intention to produce it in the future.
He further mentioned that the model will share the Polestar 5’s architecture.
The Geely-backed brand debuted its Polestar 5 four-door performance Grand Tourer on Monday, at Germany’s IAA Auto Show.
The production model is based on the Polestar Precept concept first unveiled in 2020 and introduces the company’s first 800-volt electrical architecture and in-house developed rear motor.
Orders opened Monday across 24 of Polestar’s 28 active markets, with deliveries to follow.
In the UK, the Polestar 5 Launch Edition is priced from £89,500 ($113,400).
When questioned by Autocar about the possibility of producing Polestar models with hybrid powertrains, Lohscheller quickly declined the option, saying that the EV maker is “an EV brand, and so that clarity is really important.”
According to the chief executive, it would go against the brand’s positioning, and lead costumers to “absolutely go bananas.”
The CEO presented at the IAA Auto Show earlier this week.
He was on the main stage of the event on Tuesday, where he spoke about the current discussion around the European Union’s 2035 zero-emission targets.
Several European executives, from brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Stellantis (for which Lohscheller as worked before, as the CEO of Opel), have asked EU policymakers to go back on the ban of petrol-powered vehicles in ten years.
However, Lohscheller told Automotive News he “totally” disagrees with his peers.
While he admitted that the transition to electrified vehicles is “not going linear, these things happen, life is not linear.”
“I have never seen any example in any industry where delaying or postponing helps anything,” Lohscheller added, warning that “if you postpone it, you put even more jobs in danger.”
“So, don’t change, hold the course, put all the energy into a faster transformation,” he encouraged.
Responding to several complaints that Europe’s electric vehicle infrastructure is not ready, he stated that “customers have access to 1 million charging points.”
“How many do you need? 50 million? 100 million? 300 million?,” Polestar‘s CEO questioned, ironically adding, “I mean, come on.”
Industry executives and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will discuss the issue this Friday — September 12 — a year after the approval of the 2035 ban, and as previously agreed.
