Polestar CEO sees value in electric vehicles, even when parked
During its five years as a standalone automaker, Polestar has put two vehicles into production and announced the delivery schedule for four more vehicles. The latest, the Polestar 6, is an electric roadster due to hit the road in 2026. That's an impressive pace for a new company.
While some of this success can be attributed to vehicle design and performance, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath understands that the company will have to offer more than pretty metal on four wheels. These days he thinks about automated driving technology, two-way charging and other features.
Speaking on the sidelines of the annual Quail car rally held during Monterey Car Week, Ingenlath told TechCrunch that design has always been an important part of the brand. (And it should, Ingenlath was a car designer before he took over as head of Polestar.) For example, the success of the latest generation Volvo XC90 and XC40 (Volvo is a parent company of Polestar), showed that Scandinavian design could succeed.
Today, the company is looking far beyond aesthetics as it plans its aggressive rollout.
The Polestar 6 electric roadster shown at the Quail car rally held during Monterey Car Week. Image credits: Roberto Baldwin
Energy SolutionsFor Ingenlath, vehicles are more than just a way to get around town.
“The issue of mobility is that people are way too obsessed with using their cars. I mean, that is, of course people have to become a lot more flexible,” said Ingenlath.
Using other modes of transportation to get around town might seem more logical, but it leads to the dreaded vehicle standstill. Mobility startups have long lamented the time and money wasted in vehicles that just sit there.
Ingenlath doesn't see it that way. He sees value in the parked electric vehicle.
"The battery we have in there will be a crucial part of the energy solution of the future, because you need it as a buffer," he noted, pointing to the Polestar O2 Concept that will eventually become the Polestar 6 Roadster.
Polestar 6 roadster interior. Image credits: Roberto Baldwin
The company announced that vehicle-to-charge charging (i.e. two-way charging) is coming to its vehicles. Ingenlath told T...
During its five years as a standalone automaker, Polestar has put two vehicles into production and announced the delivery schedule for four more vehicles. The latest, the Polestar 6, is an electric roadster due to hit the road in 2026. That's an impressive pace for a new company.
While some of this success can be attributed to vehicle design and performance, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath understands that the company will have to offer more than pretty metal on four wheels. These days he thinks about automated driving technology, two-way charging and other features.
Speaking on the sidelines of the annual Quail car rally held during Monterey Car Week, Ingenlath told TechCrunch that design has always been an important part of the brand. (And it should, Ingenlath was a car designer before he took over as head of Polestar.) For example, the success of the latest generation Volvo XC90 and XC40 (Volvo is a parent company of Polestar), showed that Scandinavian design could succeed.
Today, the company is looking far beyond aesthetics as it plans its aggressive rollout.
The Polestar 6 electric roadster shown at the Quail car rally held during Monterey Car Week. Image credits: Roberto Baldwin
Energy SolutionsFor Ingenlath, vehicles are more than just a way to get around town.
“The issue of mobility is that people are way too obsessed with using their cars. I mean, that is, of course people have to become a lot more flexible,” said Ingenlath.
Using other modes of transportation to get around town might seem more logical, but it leads to the dreaded vehicle standstill. Mobility startups have long lamented the time and money wasted in vehicles that just sit there.
Ingenlath doesn't see it that way. He sees value in the parked electric vehicle.
"The battery we have in there will be a crucial part of the energy solution of the future, because you need it as a buffer," he noted, pointing to the Polestar O2 Concept that will eventually become the Polestar 6 Roadster.
Polestar 6 roadster interior. Image credits: Roberto Baldwin
The company announced that vehicle-to-charge charging (i.e. two-way charging) is coming to its vehicles. Ingenlath told T...
What's Your Reaction?
