This upcoming all-electric Polestar SUV-coupe will emit only 19.4 tonnes of CO2e at launch.
Polestar has recently confirmed that its upcoming Polestar 4 will be the automaker’s greenest model to date. A claim that was backed by the publication of its first Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the SUV-coupe, the Sino-Swedish automaker reveals that this latest all-electric addition to its lineup will emit as little as 19.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) at launch.
Now of course, there is a slight technicality in which this headline figure is only applicable to standard range single motor variant of the Polestar 4. The long range single motor version instead has a carbon footprint of 19.9 tCO2e, while the long range dual motor trim emits 21.4 tCO2e. Though even at the highest CO2 output, it is worth bearing in mind that this particular SUV-coupe is still more carbon efficient than VW’s ID.3 electric hatchback.
Digging deeper into how Polestar manages this amazingly green feat, its production takes place in Geely’s SEA factory in Hangzhou, China which has solar panels on its roof that supplement green hydroelectric power from the grid. This SUV-coupe also employs a greater use of use of low-carbon aluminium from smelters using hydropower electricity, in addition to recycled aluminium in its construction to further reduce its climate impact.
Based on the LCA published, the automaker currently asserts for aluminium used in the aluminium used in making of the Polestar 4 to account for 23-24% of its carbon footprint. Another 20% of its emissions on the other hand comes from the steel and iron in its construction, with its battery modules still representing for the highest share of the carbon footprint of materials production and refining at 36-40%.
Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability at Polestar, states during this publication of the LCA: “To support our net zero goal, we set carbon budgets for all our cars. Throughout the product development of Polestar 4, its carbon budget has influenced everything from material choices to factory energy sources. Sharing the LCA enables us to show that we can strive for net zero – one tonne of CO2e at a time.”
In an effort to be transparent about their green credentials, Polestar has been since publishing full details of the carbon footprints of all its models. The automaker’s LCAs have been made public since 2020 and considers a range of factors in a car’s life cycle, from supply to manufacture and recycling.
Speaking more about the Polestar 4 itself meanwhile, this new SUV-coupe was recently unveiled this past April at the Shanghai Motor Show. An interesting design quirk of this particular EV is for it to not have a rear window, with a roof-mounted camera instead aiding rear visibility in lieu of the rear glass.
Coming in at just under 5 metres in length, the Polestar 4 nets a 102 kWh battery pack that targets up to 600 km of range on a single charge. The single motor version is rated at 272 hp and 343 Nm of torque to the rear wheels, while the dual motor variant can deliver up to 544 hp and 686 Nm of torque to all four wheels.
The Polestar 4 is set to hit showrooms in China this month, with international sales soon to follow. There is unfortunately no word yet however on when exactly this model will arrive locally, or even the brand in general for that matter…
