► More details on Polestar’s new compact SUV
► Likely to be built on SPA3 and assembled in a Volvo factory
► Should also feature superfast 800-volt charging tech
Polestar has released a few more details about the 7 SUV ahead of its scheduled launch in 2028. The brand has confirmed it’ll lean on Volvo and Geely for the car’s battery, motor and chassis technology – and it’ll be built at Volvo’s Kosice plant in Slovakia.
That means Polestar should be able to get its new volume-driving SUV into showrooms more cheaply and therefore turn more of a profit. However, the brand is keen to not sacrifice its integrity for cost efficiency. It says it’ll recalibrate Volvo’s tech to ‘create the driving experience and performance characteristics that Polestar is known for.’
Polestar hasn’t yet confirmed what platform the 7 will be built on, but we suspect the immensely scalable SPA3 platform that’ll underpin the upcoming Volvo EX60 makes the ideal candidate. It can prop up cars smaller than the EX30 and larger than the EX90, and it’ll also feature an 800-volt electrical architecture for faster charging.
The 7’s shift onto a common Geely/Volvo platform is significant. Polestar’s CEO, Michael Lohscheller recently revealed that every new model conceived after the Polestar 7 would use the same hardware, ending the fragmented platform strategy that’s seen the brand use four different architectures in five years.
‘All the cars which come afterwards come on exactly this platform. Unfortunately, it takes time but we have a really consistent platform strategy. It has many advantages: complexity is reduced, costs are reduced, most likely duties will be avoided in Europe, but – most importantly – we get the very latest technology.’
The fact the Polestar 7 will be built in Europe is also significant. It’s a first for the brand, who already has manufacturing hubs in the USA, South Korea and China. The 7 is also still expected to hit showrooms before the 6 electric roadster, breaking the company’s launch date-ordered naming strategy.
Polestar 7: what we know so far
The Polestar 7 is a new compact SUV that’ll be sized somewhere between the Volvo EX30 and EX40. That shunts it squarely into the same market as the Polestar 2 – but Lohscheller has confirmed the car will be an incremental model that will not sit alongside the 2 rather than replace it, as has been reported elsewhere.
‘Compact SUVs are where the market is at, especially in Europe,’ he said. ‘It’s the segment to go for. Size wise, it’s between Volvo EX30 and EX40. This is where the heart of the market is. Very few real premium companies are there; there’s a lot of mass-market [rivals]. But we feel this is perfect, it’s a big profit pool and a big volume pool.’
As for the look – don’t expect anything too outrageously different from the clean, cool looks of the rest of the Polestar range. ‘Polestar is known for its progressive design, with each car standing out and creating its own buzz – so too will Polestar 7,’ says new head of design, Philipp Römers.
‘It’s incredibly exciting to bring Polestar’s design ethos to a new segment. Polestar 7 will be everything our customers expect from us, both in terms of design and performance.’
For context, Römers designed the Audi A6 e-Tron and Q6 e-Tron, as well as other Volkswagen Group models like the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf. Note, however, that new CEO Lohscheller has directed his fresh design appointment to make the cars ‘a little more confident.’
‘Don’t expect a radical change. I want a bit more confidence and I want to highlight the performance element.’