Volvo EV offshoot Polestar reveals climate impact
The electric performance brand Polestar has announced plans to publish details of the climate impact of its electric vehicles (EV).
The Swedish company, an offshoot of Volvo, aims to be the most transparent in the automotive industry to illustrate the exact environmental value of owning an EV.
Polestar’s complete Life Cycle Assessment shows the total climate impact of the car over its life cycle. Using its own analysis, Polestar found the new Polestar 2 vehicle leaves the factory with a 26-tonne carbon footprint. Compared to a Volvo XC40 with a petrol internal combustion engine, Polestar 2 has a larger footprint in the manufacturing phase, mainly due to the energy-intensive battery production process.
But once the EV reaches the customer, if charged with green energy it said further CO2 emissions were “negligible”. After 31,000 miles of driving, the fossil fuel car surpasses the EV in total CO2e emissions.
Speaking about the findings, Polestar CEO, Thomas Ingenlath, said: “Car manufacturers have not been clear in the past with consumers on the environmental impact of their products.
“That’s not good enough. We need to be honest, even if it makes for uncomfortable reading.”
“The message is clear. Electric vehicles offer a route to climate neutrality and we will use the insights from this report to reach that goal.”
Head of sustainability at Polestar, Fredrika Klarén, said “fragmentation will only lead to confusion” and that manufacturers needed to come together and be more transparent.
She said: “What we’re saying at Polestar is, As an industry, let’s help consumers make the right choice.”
The full methodology for Polestar’s Life Cycle Assessment and the analysis of the Polestar 2 carbon footprint can be found here.
