Polestar 3 goes into production in the US

UK deliveries are scheduled for later this year.

Photo by: Polestar

By: Stefan Leichsenring

Aug 19, 2024 at 4:08am ET

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The Polestar 3 was originally scheduled to go into production at the end of 2023. The date was postponed due to software problems. It has been built for China in Chengdu since February and will now be manufactured in Ridgeville (South Carolina, USA), as the brand has officially announced.

At 4.90 metres in length, the Polestar 3 is a competitor to the Audi Q8 Sportback, BMW iX, Mercedes EQE SUV, and Volvo EX90. The plant in South Carolina manufactures the Polestar 3 for customers in the USA and Europe. It is the first Polestar model to be produced on two continents. The Polestar 2 is manufactured in Luqiao, the Polestar 4 in Hangzhou. From mid-2025, the latter will also roll off the production line in South Korea.

Gallery: Polestar 3 (production in Ridgeville/South Carolina)

Source: Polestar

"The production of the Polestar 3 in the USA is a decisive step for us," said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath. "We are now offering customers in America an electric SUV that is built in America. Exporting the Polestar 3 produced in South Carolina to Europe will strengthen our business on a larger scale."

He is "convinced that this is the best-looking and best-driving SUV on the market today." The newcomer is described by the manufacturer as a "performance SUV for the electric age." It is intended to combine Scandinavian design with modern technology and good driving dynamics.

Gallery: 2023 Polestar 3

Originally, only all-wheel-drive models with 489 PS and 517 PS were announced for the Polestar 3, with sprint times of around five seconds. At the end of June, a rear-wheel-drive model was announced with a more modest 299 PS engine. With an estimated range of 400 miles, this version is one of the models with the longest range of all.

Here is a small comparison table for the version we consider to be the most interesting, the rear-wheel drive.

	Polestar 3 Single Motor	Audi Q8 50 e-tron	BMW iX xDrive40	Mercedes EQE SUV 350+	Volvo EX90 Single Motor 5-seater
Drive	RWD 299 PS	AWD 340 PS	AWD 326 PS	RWD 292 PS	RWD 279 PS
0-62 mph	7.8 sec.	6.0 sec.	6.1 sec.	6.7 sec.	8.4 sec.
Fuel consumption	3.1-3.3 mi/kWh	2.6-3.2 mi/kWh	2.9-3.2 mi/kWh	3.0-3.5 mi/kWh	3.1 mi/kWh
Net battery	107 kWh	89 kWh	74 kWh	96 kWh	101 kWh
Range	approx. 400 miles	254-305 miles	250-270 miles	333-390 miles	360 miles
Max. DC charging power	approx. 250 kW	150 kW	150 kW	170 kW	250 kW
DC charging time (10-80%)	approx. 30 min	28 min	31 min	32 min	30 min
DC charging speed	2.5 kWh/min	2.2 kWh/min	1.7 kWh/min	2.1 kWh/min	2.4 kWh/min
Base price	£69,900	£71,510	£70,985	£75,495	NA in UK (€83,700 in Germany)

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As you can see, the base model of the Polestar 3 is not overpriced. Although there are better motorised models from Audi and BMW at similar prices, they have significantly less range. The model's strengths include above all the three "primary motorway virtues": fairly low consumption, a long range, and very fast charging, at least for a 400-volt car.

Polestar 3: The Launch Edition in the configurator (screenshot)

According to the Polestar 3 website, deliveries in Germany will begin at the end of September, i.e. in around six weeks. On this date, however, only the Launch Edition will be available. Individually configured models are to be handed over to customers from October.

Source: Polestar