Polestar recruits former Volkswagen Golf, Audi designer to lead luxury EV design
Polestar (PSNY) has hired Philip Römers to lead its design team. Before joining Polestar, Römers was a lead Volkswagen and Audi designer known for designing the Mk7 VW Golf and Audi e-tron GT.
Polestar hires former VW and Audi designer
Römers is taking over for Maximilian Missoni, who has spent the past six years with Polestar. Before that, he spent eight and a half years at Volvo and ten at Volkswagen in various design roles.
“I thank Max for his leadership and companionship during the inception of Polestar as Europe’s only pure EV brand,” Polestar’s CEO Thomas Ingenlath said Wednesday. He helped set the design standards that set Polestar apart in luxury and performance.
Ingenlath welcomed Römers, saying his modern approach and luxury experience will help Polestar “take the next step in developing our model line-up.”
Römers is best known for his work on the 7th generation VW Golf. After joining Volkswagen in 2006, his design was chosen for the Golf in 2009.
He then jumped to Audi, where he is credited with designing the outgoing A6, A8, and e-Tron GT models.
An inflection point
The hiring comes at a crucial time as Polestar enters its next growth stage. After delivering the first Polestar 4 models in Europe this week, the Swedish EV brand expanded from a one-car to a three-car lineup.
Deliveries of the Polestar 3 electric SUV began in Europe earlier this summer. “With three models, Polestar is positioning itself as the design-led premium luxury electric car brand in the global EV market,” Ingenlath explained.
The company said Polestar 4 deliveries are expected to begin in North America and Australia by the end of the year. It will start at $56,300 in the US with up to 300 miles range as the latest Tesla Model Y challenger.
Last week, Polestar announced it built its first electric SUV in the US. The Polestar 3 starts at $73,400 with up to 315 miles range. It’s expected to rival the new Porsche Macan EV.
| Polestar 4 trim in the US | Starting Price (including $1,400 destination fee) |
Range (expected EPA-est) |
| Long Range Single Motor | $56,300 | 300 mi |
| Long Range Dual Motor | $64,300 | 270 mi |
| Long Range Dual Motor model (with Plus and Performance packs) |
$74,300 | 270 mi |
By 2026, Polestar plans to have a five-luxury performance EV lineup. Polestar said the electric four-door GT (Polestar 5) and electric roadster (Polestar 6) will be coming soon.
After selling 54,626 vehicles last year, Polestar expects that number to nearly triple as aims to sell 155,000 models next year.
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Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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