Polestar Precept to rival Audi e-tron GT

It was revealed ahead of the cancelled 2020 Geneva motor show in February, but now Volvo’s EV brand has used this week’s Beijing show to confirm the Polestar Precept concept for production.

Back in February, Polestar said the Precept would form the basis of its first SUV, the Polestar 3, an electric coupe-crossover to rival the Audi e-tron, Jaguar I-PACE, Mercedes-Benz EQC and Tesla Model X.

Now the Chinese-owned Swedish EV brand has confirmed the Precept will become its fourth model – presumably named the Polestar 4 – following the inaugural Polestar 1 – a limited-run plug-in hybrid coupe produced only in left-hand drive – the newly launched Polestar 2 sedan and the Polestar 3 SUV due in 2022.

Volvo Car Australia has confirmed its first EV will be the XC40 Recharge, which goes one step further than the XC40 T5 PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) released in mid-2020, later than expected in the second half of next year.

The Polestar 2, a fastback-style mid-size sedan aimed at the Tesla Model 3, has been confirmed for Australia too, but we understand the first Polestar model won’t arrive here until about six months after the XC40 EV, meaning early 2022 at the soonest.

Polestar’s first SUV, the next-gen XC90-based Polestar 3, is due in production next year and is also likely to be sold Down Under, where it could become the EV brand’s top-seller from as soon as late 2022.

However, while Polestar says it’s already under development, the Precept is at least three years away from production and yet to be confirmed for Australia.

The new Polestar flagship is a four-door electric GT in the same vein as the Audi e-tron GT, and is likely to be even more expensive than the circa-$250K Polestar 1 coupe.

Polestar says the Precept “started life as a manifesto to illustrate the brand’s future vision and was described as a commitment car, not a concept car”.

“‘Stunning. Spectacular. Cutting-edge. We’d like to see it on the road!’ – this is what the press wrote about Precept and the public said, ‘We want it’, so we decided to build it,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath.

“Consumers want to see change from this industry – not just dreams. Now, Precept becomes an even stronger statement. We are committed to reduce the environmental impact of our cars and our business.

“The aim has to be climate neutrality, even though I recognise that is a long-term goal.”

Apart from showcasing the Swedish electric performance brand’s future design direction, the Precept was also said to highlight Polestar’s digital technology plans and the use of sustainable interior and exterior materials.

No specifications have been announced for the Precept, but Ingenlath said its driving range would be competitive in the premium sports car arena.

Inside the five-metre-long Polestar Precept is a next-generation version of Polestar's Android-based infotainment system, comprising a 15-inch portrait-orientated central touch-screen and a 12.5-inch digital instrument display.

The interior of Polestar Precept show car features a mix of materials made from recycled PET bottles, reclaimed fishing nets and recycled cork vinyl, while a flax-based composite is employed for many interior and some exterior parts. Polestar says its ambition is “to bring much of this sustainability into production”.

Polestar intends to produce the Precept in a new state-of-the-art factory in China, which will not only be carbon-neutral but “one of the most intelligent and connected automotive production facilities in the world”.

The Polestar 2 is now in production at the company’s original manufacturing facility in Chengdu, which runs on 100 per cent renewable energy and where the LHD-only Polestar 1 has been built since 2019.

“China is a home market for Polestar and we recognise the increasingly important drive for greater sustainability here,” said Ingenlath at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition 2020.

“With this new factory, we will again raise the bar, aiming to produce the most advanced and premium electric car in China with the lowest carbon footprint.”