Polestar Australia boss backs Volvo’s EV pause

The new boss of Polestar Australia has welcomed Volvo’s decision to pause its switch to EVs by 2030 and said the move would allow the brand “a little bit more breathing space” to differentiate the two brands.

Things could be made even better for Polestar Down Under if rumours of Volvo Australia reconsidering its EV-only-by-2026 strategy prove accurate.

“I think it gives us a little bit more breathing space,” newly appointed Polestar Australia CEO Scott Maynard said, adding that the close links between the two brands had made it harder for Polestar to establish its own identity.

“It’s probably something you could land a blow with.

“It [the pause] does differentiate our brand a little from theirs – they can still do what they do with hybrids and tapping the volume that comes from that side.

“We can move into that really exclusive premium space and concentrate on what we do with the designs of cars like the ones we are launching.”

Volvo scrapped its target to be an EV-only brand by 2030 in early September after being one of the first global brands to commit to an all-EV future (in 2021) with one of the earliest transition dates.

But slower-than-expected EV sales have prompted it to pause its transition, much like Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen.

Polestar was launched by Volvo and parent Geely as an electric-only brand in 2017 and went on-sale in Australia with its first EV, the Polestar 2, in 2022.

Since then it has managed to sell a total of 5000 cars in Australia, a number dwarfed by the EV market leader Tesla, which has already sold more than 28,000 cars in 2024 alone.

Despite spinning off from Volvo to become an independent company, Polestar is still closely linked with its former parent – the 2 was originally a Volvo concept, with the two brands working together on model development as well as sharing platforms and operating systems.

While Polestars are sold online and in a limited number of retail outlets known as ‘spaces’, servicing is carried out by select Volvo dealers.

Maynard was speaking to carsales at the Australian launch of the Polestar 3 large luxury SUV, the second model to go on-sale in our market.

He said the 3, the inbound Polestar 4 medium SUV and next year’s 5 four-door coupe will be critical in developing Polestar’s stand-alone identity as an electric luxury brand.

“We’ve still got an important tie to Volvo through things like service so there’s still a really important connection to that brand,” he said.

“But in terms of Polestar’s design, sustainability and premium messaging the 3 will get us there, 4 will continue to do it and 5 will really punch it up a notch.”

The Polestar 6 sports car is scheduled for an Australian release in 2026 while the replacement for the aging 2, the Polestar 7, will reportedly land in 2027.

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