Polestar’s second, third cars will be all-electric, one to challenge Tesla Model 3Polestar’s second, third cars will be all-electric, one to challenge Tesla Model 3

While Tesla works out the production bottlenecks that plague the Model 3, rivals continue to gear up to challenge the Silicon Valley maker’s more affordable electric car.
Specifically, Tesla’s latest announced competitor comes from the new brand at Volvo Cars Group, named Polestar, which has become a standalone maker within the company’s stable.
Polestar unveiled its first vehicle, the plug-in hybrid Polestar 1, last week, but it already has plans for two additional models—and one has the Model 3 square in its sights.
DON’T MISS: Volvo’s new Polestar electric-car brand to launch 600-hp model in 2019
Although the brand’s first car is merely electrified with its plug-in hybrid powertrain, all future Polestar models will be purely electric.
The Polestar 2 will enter production in 2019, according to the brand itself, and it will boast much higher productions volumes than the Polestar 1.
The brand will sell its first vehicle via a subscription-based model and it will build just 500 units of that first car.
Polestar 1
The Polestar 2 will be Volvo Cars Group’s first battery-electric model when it enters production in two years at a dedicated Chinese assembly plant.
It remains unclear at the moment what production volume Polestar will target for the Model 3 competitor, it said only that it will deliver higher production volumes than the 1.
With such a low production figure surrounding the 1, it’s at least possible the Polestar 2 could be just as limited.
READ THIS: Car subscription services to take 1 of 5 sales by 2023, Volvo CEO says
By explicitly citing the Model 3 as a competitor, though, it’s not hard to imagine the Polestar 2 as something of a mass-market, sporty electric car.
Following the 2, a Polestar 3 will arrive at an undisclosed date; the brand says it will be a “larger SUV-style battery-electric vehicle.”
The 3 is currently in the design stage and Polestar says it will sit between the 1 and 2 in terms of production volume.
Polestar 1
Polestar established itself as a performance-oriented electrified car brand, which means each model will likely boast sporting and luxurious elements.
The Polestar 1 houses this ethos, at least on paper; the plug-in hybrid powertrain produces 600 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque.
To boot, it features the longest range of any plug-in hybrid on sale today with an estimated range of 150 kilometers (93 miles).
CHECK OUT: Tesla: Model 3 production problems prompt electric Semi delay
The car also ushered in phone-as-a-key technology, which will allow Polestar subscribers to share the vehicle with designated users via a smartphone.
Pre-orders for the 1 began on October 17, but the car will reach owners (subscribers?) in 2019, just ahead of Polestar 2 production.
_______________________________________
Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter

View original article at:  “https://www.greencarreports.com//news/1113407_polestars-second-third-cars-will-be-all-electric-one-to-challenge-tesla-model-3”