Polestar CEO Defends Low EPA Range Rating For Polestar 2

The Polestar 2 recently received an official EPA range rating of 233 miles (375 km), which disappointed many of us because the car is equipped with a 78 kWh battery.

On the other hand, we know that the EPA ratings are under critique (as not representative of real-world, especially for European cars), and the results are often quite far from the WLTP in Europe. In the case of Polestar 2, the WLTP is 470 km (292 miles) - 25% more.

TechCrunch recently had an opportunity to speak with Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath who defends the car, basically saying that in the real-world, P2 can do better than on paper and that the difference to a comparable Tesla Model 3 is lower than on paper (up to roughly 100 miles of EPA range).

Volvo XC40 Recharge has the same problem by the way (both cars shares the same CMA platform).

Thomas Ingenlath said with a smile: "we know what the car does in reality, we know that in reality, what might look a very big difference [on paper] is not that much of a difference." He adds also that the range is sufficient for day-to-day life.

It sounds like an invitation to test the Polestar 2 and Tesla Model 3 side-by-side. There will be a difference, but according to the Polestar CEO, for sure not 100 miles - "much much less than the hundred miles".

New longer-range versions coming

There are also other interesting things in the interview that caught our attention.

Polestar CEO said that the currently offered and rated by EPA Polestar 2 is just one version and there are different variants coming. They will have "different, higher EPA [numbers]", but clearly he didn't want to reveal too much yet.

In 2021 there will be a single-motor version of the Polestar 2, which by having the same battery pack, should get more range - slightly more we guess.

Improved efficiency

Thomas Ingenlath mentioned also that the company is learning about Polestar 2 and will be improving its efficiency, through software updates. Hopefully, it will add some miles for new and already purchased cars.