Polestar 2 price jumps $4,000 with new upgrades to reduce emissions

Pricing for the Polestar 2 jumped up by as much as $4,000 on Thursday as the electric-only brand reopened the Australia order page for the Tesla rival, and announced new colours and wheel designs as well as a range of updates designed to reduce the carbon emissions.

Polestar 2 entered the Australian market in late 2021 at just under $59,900 for a Standard Range model with 69kWh battery and a single rear motor, but the base model now starts at $63,900 before on-road costs.

Likewise, the Long Range variant with 78kWh battery and a single rear motor now starts at $68,400 up from $64,900 and the Long Range with dual motor starts at $73,400, up from $69,900.

The jump in price has been accompanied by a slew of changes, some of them upgrades and some of them replacements. Among them are two new colors – Space, a pure black which replaces the previous deep “Void” color, and Jupiter, a paler version of the previous silver-grey “Moon” colour.

Wheels get a makeover

The image above also shows the new standard 19-inch wheels (above) compared to the old wheels (below). The optional $1,400 20-inch wheel design has also received an upgrade, while the 20-inch wheels (below right) available only with the $8,000 Performance pack remain the same.

Loads of Plus pack upgrades

Inside, a new Zinc medium-grey colour replaces the previous Barley ventilated Nappa leather upholstery option, available only with the $6,000 Plus pack. Plus pack customers will also get a removable sunshade, which will also be available in the Polestar shop from mid-June.

In addition to these upgrades, the heat pump that comes with the Plus pack now also has a wider temperature range (-7°C and 25°C), and there is also an imprvoed cabin filter upgraded interior particulate matter sensor that can be viewed via a new in-car app.

No pixels for Pilot pack

Those after the original $5,000 Pilot pack, which in February was cut to $3,400 after the EV maker was forced to remove the Pixel LED headlights, will have to wait unfortunately as supply issues continue to dog the automotive sector.

Alongside the above changes, Polestar adds that a number of upgrades to materials and methods of tracking sustainability have been implemented as the EV maker works towards its Polestar 0 Project to create a climate-neutral car by 2030.

“These are important additions to how we can improve cars over their lifetime – not just with functionality and design updates but addressing sustainability and carbon footprint as well,” said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath in a note to press.

Among these is a new aluminium battery casing tray that reduces CO2 emissions in the car’s manufacture by 750kg. To achieve this Polestar says it has bought only aluminium from smelters that use renewable energy.

Fredrika Klarén, Polestar’s head of sustainability, adds that a similar change has been made to the manufacture of the Polestar 2 wheels.

“A first pilot has been rolled out, replacing the aluminium in the wheels with low-carbon aluminium that is produced using renewable energy. We expect this to result in a 600 kg CO₂e reduction per car for Polestar 2 in the second half of the year,” she said.

“Together with the improvements to aluminium in the battery tray, we’re expecting to see a total reduction of around 1,350 kg per car.”

Additionally, Polestar can now track the source of the mica used in its batteries (in addition to cobalt) using blockchain technology thanks to a partnership struck between Polestar and Circulor, a supply chain transparency company.

Interior design updates also include increased use of renewable, recyclable and recycled materials, including improved credentials for the optional Nappa leather.

Delivery dates

Polestar tells The Driven that new orders in the current allocation will be delivered from late November. There are no pre-configured cars available currently as the carmaker assesses current demand.

Meanwhile, customers who have been waiting for their new Polestar 2 from the first allocation will soon have some happy news. After a “delivery pause” in April as registration delays were dealt with, new cars will make their way to customers in May, says Polestar Australia CEO Samantha Johnson.

In a note to The Driven, she said: “We have been working to resolve issues behind the delays to ensure they are appropriately addressed. In turn, we have revised our delivery model to better meet customer expectations moving forward. Customer deliveries are due to recommence in May.”

This article has been updated with the correct Standard range battery size (69kWh not 64kWh).