Growing sales but not emissions – Polestar reduces CO2 intensity by 8% during a record year
Swedish EV maker Polestar released its third annual sustainability report showing it had reduced relative CO2 emissions by 8% per car sold – during a year of record growth in 2022.
Polestar cuts CO2 emissions during record growth
Polestar delivered 51,491 vehicles in 2022, up 80% from 2021 and beating its 50,000 annual global volume target.
Despite the impressive growth, Polestar managed to reduce relative CO2 emissions for each vehicle sold by 8% compared to 2021 levels.
Due to scaling operations (nearly doubling), Polestar’s absolute emissions did increase, but this is to be expected as a rapid growth company expands its network.
Absolute emissions include the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) a company emits compared to a specific base year. In contrast, relative emissions include those tied to a unit of production – in Polestar’s case, each vehicle.
While absolute emissions have risen, Polestar has reduced its relative emissions on a per-vehicle basis by 13% since 2020, an impressive feat for a company that has scaled from just over 10,000 EV sales to over 51,000.
The EV maker says it has cut emissions by reducing average transport, having high sales in markets with more renewable energy on the grids (Norway, Sweden, Australia, etc.), and vehicle updates using over-the-air (OTA) tech.
For example, Polestar says it changed the supplier providing aluminum for the wheels and battery trays for the Polestar 2, where a “change to a hydro-powered smelter resulted in a 1.2-ton reduction per car.”
Other contributing factors to the reduction include the factory where the Polestar 2 is built now running on 100% renewable energy and a larger share of single motor vehicles, which have low energy demand.
Fredrika Klarén, head of sustainability at Polestar, said:
We wear our emissions on our sleeve – measuring and scrutinizing every detail ensures we keep our eye on the ball.
Polestar is best known for its sleek minimalist designed vehicles that bring out the best in EVs, but what you may not know is that the Swedish EV maker is on a mission to improve sustainability in the auto industry, not just through its vehicles but with transparent tracking and reporting.
Electrification is not enough
Polestar is one of the automakers that’s actively working to advance zero-emission technology, not against it. The Swedish EV maker aims to build a completely climate-neutral EV by 2030 with the Polestar 0 project.
Klarén explains:
Electrification alone is not enough and pure EV-makers like Polestar have a lot of work ahead of us. Our focus remains unchanged as we double down on cutting emissions in our supply chain.
In addition to reducing emissions from its vehicle lineup, Polestar aims to be completely transparent by disclosing where the minerals (cobalt, mica, lithium, nickel, leather, and wool) they use are sourced from and the supply chains they use, as well as reporting back the results to provide valuable insights to push the industry ahead.
Earlier this year, Klarén called out automakers, saying anyone focusing on anything but EVs are taking the wrong approach, adding there is no place for mass-produced non-EV models after 2030.
She says Polestar is basing its assessments on science rather than locked in business plans like many other automakers, claiming:
From our standpoint, our climate strategy is based on the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). It’s a top-down approach. We’ve said that we need to be climate neutral by 2040 as a company and we need to halve emissions by 2030, and that’s not what we can do – that is what the climate scientists are telling us we need to do as companies.
Klarén turned her attention toward Toyota and its stance on hybrid vehicles, saying:
To me, you’re still putting gasoline in the car, so don’t focus on that technology at all. If you keep focussing [and] having that in your business plan, you’re not going to level up in the way you need to do in terms of this new technology.
If we continue down the path we are headed, Klarén explains, we only have seven more years until we hit 1.5 degrees global warming, so anything after 2030, Polestar is not interested.
Electrek’s Take
The fact that Polestar has been able to grow as rapidly as it has and still managed to reduce relative CO2 emissions is an important one. It shows it can be done.
Another important thing to note here is this just includes manufacturing emissions, which is nothing compared to emissions from operation. Information from the EPA shows 74% (some estimates say +90%) of gas car emissions over their lifetime are from operation, while EVs emit zero GHGs while driving.
Polestar is leading the charge toward a sustainable auto industry, but it’s still only a fraction of the total market.
Other automakers need to get on board, and it starts with ending gas-powered vehicle production ASAP. We cannot afford to continue on the path we are on. Global CO2 emissions hit a new record in 2022, and if something isn’t done, it could mean more extreme weather events that destroy communities and the food supply.
Atmospheric CO2 levels are just over 420 ppm, according to the NOAA’s Mauna Loa Baseline Observatory’s latest readings.
For us to get back to the 300 to 360 ppm range that it has been over the past several millenniums, the transportation industry, one of the largest contributors to emissions, needs to modernize – and quickly.
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After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!
It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.
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Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.
Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?
After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.
Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.
Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.
It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).
Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.
Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.
According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.
It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.
Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.
As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.
The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.
Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.
Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.
Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.
This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.
As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.
Prior to Trump taking power, Tesla had already planned to build a small LFP battery factory in the US to avoid the 25% tariffs.
The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.
Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:
Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):
Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.
The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.
Ford is also developing its own LFP battery cell factory in Michigan, but this facility is significantly larger, with a planned production capacity of 35 GWh.
Electrek’s Take
It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.
But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.
Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.
It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.
The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.
It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.
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