If there is a company with a better reputation than the venerable Tesla, it has to be Volvo. Volvo has always upheld the mantle of being the most humane and environmentally conscious automaker. Which means that it should come as no surprise that Volvo’s electric and luxury brand Polestar is gearing up to take on the task of building an affordable luxury electric car to take Tesla’s Model 3. Reports on Autocar UK suggest that Polestars’ next car, the Polestar 2 will compete directly with the Model 3. Although Volvo has said that the Polestar 2 will make 400ish horsepower along with an impressive range of 565 kms and is likely to cost between 26 lakh and 45 lakh once launched. The huge price gap might accommodate various trims although these prices are sans duties so expect the vehicle to be costlier once landed in India.
As the company continues developing, researching, and marketing its latest Polestar 2, it has been learning that the entry-level model promises to be the most successful of the incoming lineup. Jonathan Goodman COO of Polestar was quoted saying to Autocar, that one of the most important things in his mind when it came to the adoption of electric vehicles, is Volvo’s very conservative design approach. While Goodman stresses on the ever-growing EV market he also reminds the competition that the end-result should not alienate the user. Going forward it will be important for users to not feel excluded by the technology.
At present market, projections predict that the EV market could be approaching nearly 3 crore cars worldwide, and it will be important that the makers of EVs have a strong fundamental understanding of the needs of their end user. This is turn will ensure that automakers build EVs that are just as easy to use as the current crop of ICE Vehicles.
