Swedish electric vehicle maker Polestar says it is “good to go” on vehicle to grid (V2G) technology in Australia – for at least one of its models – after one of the last major barriers to the technology was removed with the approval of new standards.
V2G technology in Australia has been limited to various trials and some individual exceptions, but with the update to standard AS/NZS 4777.2 – car makers and charging equipment suppliers will now be able to seek approval for their technology and roll them out at scale, assuming the demand is there.
Polestar Australia managing director Scott Maynard says the recently released Polestar 3 luxury electric SUV – with a 111 kWh battery – has the capability of V2G, although the situation with the soon to be released Polestar 4 is less clear because it is built on a different platform.
“It (the Polestar 3) can support it very easily, so we’re all good to go with 3,” Maynard said in an interview with The Driven on the occasion of Polestar’s Drive Day with the soon to be released Polestar 4.
Polestar later clarified that while the Polestar 3 is equipped with the necessary hardware, software to enable the technology won’t be released until later in 2025, expected around Q3.
The industry and consumers are watching with interest to see which auto makers move first on V2G – which offers potentially significant benefits to households, in terms of back up power and possible earnings, and significant savings for the grid.
One Australian company, Red Earth, has already announced it will become the first Australian manufacturer of V2G charging equipment, and others are expected to follow. Polestar has been conducting trials on V2G technology with various service providers and the grid operators in its home town of Gothenburg, Sweden since late last year.
Polestar, meanwhile, will soon have its third model on the Australia market – with the Polestar 4 following numerically from the Polestar 2 and Polestar 3, and the company is plotting a new retail strategy in Australia as it deals with the significant leadership changes both here and abroad.
Maynard, previously the executive general manager of BYD Australia, took on the lead role at Polestar Australia in July 2024, after Samantha Johnson’s decision to step down from this role and become interim CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council.
At a global level, the original Polestar CEO and former Volvo designer Thomas Ingenlath resigned on 1st October, 2024. In his place, Polestar appointed Michael Lohscheller, who previously served as CEO for other automotive brands including Opel, VinFast and Nikola.
“We’re now being asked to have a far more autonomous approach to the way we run the business, and so the business globally is decentralising a little bit, which I think is a fantastic thing, it’s a great move,” Maynard says.
“The brand … will still have its heart and soul in Sweden, it’ll be run from there. But the level of autonomy that markets are now being handed to be able to control how they market, where they sell, with that comes responsibility as well.”
Maynard says Polestar Australia plans to adopt a “More active selling model, making sure the brand is more accessible and getting it into more spots and in front of more people.”
Since launching the Polestar 3 and 4, which are both more expensive than the Polestar 2, there will also be more of a focus on our retail customers and being a premium brand. “Launching some true luxury vehicles will see us now really start to hone in and refocus on the luxury car buyer and the individual,” Maynard says.
Despite the cheapest single motor Polestar 4 variant starting at a higher price than a long range dual motor Polestar 2, Maynard is confident they will sell significantly more Polestar 4 due to it having a much broader appeal, sitting in the popular medium to large SUV space.
Maynard would not put a figure on their expectations for Polestar 4 sales, but said he personally thinks they can beat their internal planning number and they have flexibility to dial production up and down for the Australian market as they see fit.
How successful Polestar Australia will be at boosting their sales figures depends partly on sweeping changes planned for their retail network, due to come into effect on January 1, 2025.
From next year, Polestar Australia will effectively step aside from managing the existing independent factory owned spaces that are open today, handing all retail operations over to new retail partners. This includes the newly opened Polestar Artarmon flagship Space in Sydney, shown at the top of this article.
Polestar Australia will primarily rely on strengthening existing relationships with Volvo partners to expand their retail footprint, despite Volvo reducing its stake in Polestar from 48% to 18% earlier this year. A stronger aftersales relationship with Volvo will also give existing and future Polestar owners access to a much larger servicing network.
After learning that Polestar 4 has the lowest carbon footprint (19.9 – 21.4 t CO2e) of any Polestar at launch, The Driven asked how the Polestar 0 project to produce a truly climate neutral car by 2030 was progressing. Maynard started by confirming that “Polestar 0 is absolutely alive and well, and all of the work on that car continues.”
Laurissa Mirabelli, the Head of PR & Communications, added that on top of incremental year over year improvements, the company is “looking for exponential tech to kick-in. There are some solutions that we need that are not available just yet, we are waiting for the tipping point.”
“What we often say is this is Polestar’s ambition, but if Polestar isn’t successful in delivering this product, that’s the failure of the whole industry. As much as we’re trying to drive it, we need collective action, we’re going to get to a point where you need the commitment of a lot of partners.”
Tim has 20 years experience in the IT industry including 14 years as a network engineer and site reliability engineer at Google Australia. He is an EV and renewable energy enthusiast who is most passionate about helping people understand and adopt these technologies.