Photo: Polestar
Polestar goes a long way back. Founded in 1996 as Flash Engineering, the Swedish racing team was then rebranded into Polestar Racing. The Gothenburg-based company was elevated to being the official go-faster skunkworks for the Swedish automaker in 2009 under the Polestar Performance moniker. Come 2015, it was purchased outright by Volvo.
Two years later, Polestar became a standalone brand focused on electrification above everything else. But rather than a zero-emission vehicle, their first series-production model came in the guise of a plug-in hybrid. A performance-oriented PHEV, of course, with a serious dash of Chinese influences considering that Volvo Cars is currently owned by the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and chaired by Geely founder Li Shufu.
Introduced in October 2017, the 1 features a bland name. In terms of design and performance, on the other hand, it’s anything but a bland car.
2+2 grand tourer with a two-door configuration, the 1 can thank the 2013 Volvo Concept Coupe for its bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful proportions. Don’t be fooled by the long hood and short rear deck, though, because it’s built around the Scalable Product Architecture introduced by Volvo in 2014 with the second-generation XC90 three-row utility vehicle.
Exclusively offered with all-wheel drive, this amazing machine integrates two electric motors at the rear, a twin-charged (as in turbocharged and supercharged) four-cylinder engine up front, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and 34 kilowatt hours’ worth of lithium-ion battery cells. Produced in merely 1,500 units in Chengdu, the 1 has been recalled over a manufacturing defect that leads to battery overheating at 100 percent SOC.
Care to guess which company is responsible for the defective cells? None other than Zhejiang Forever New Energy Technology Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the Chinese multinational that owns Volvo’s car division and Polestar.
Volvo Cars informed Polestar of the concern on September 7th as per the chronology listed in the attached report. Deemed critical by the Critical Management Team on September 12th, the overheating condition was then investigated. A field service action was confirmed on December 14th, and Polestar started implementing said field service action the following day.
No fewer than 66 examples are called back in the United States according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicles produced for the 2020 and 2021 model years in the period between September 11th, 2019 and May 12th, 2021. Polestar informs affected owners that the car won’t show any warnings prior to the battery cells overheating when the battery is fully charged, which makes this concern all the more dangerous for the driver and both the front and rear passengers.
Rather than replacing the iffy cells, Polestar is rolling out an interim remedy in the guise of a software update designed to minimize the risk of a thermal event. As expected, the software update in question doesn’t allow the lithium-ion battery to be charged to 100 percent state of charge.
The permanent remedy, which is expected to become available in the second quarter of 2023, will be to replace all defective hardware. Polestar 1 owners will be informed of this campaign no later than December 23rd.
Introduced in October 2017, the 1 features a bland name. In terms of design and performance, on the other hand, it’s anything but a bland car.
2+2 grand tourer with a two-door configuration, the 1 can thank the 2013 Volvo Concept Coupe for its bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful proportions. Don’t be fooled by the long hood and short rear deck, though, because it’s built around the Scalable Product Architecture introduced by Volvo in 2014 with the second-generation XC90 three-row utility vehicle.
Exclusively offered with all-wheel drive, this amazing machine integrates two electric motors at the rear, a twin-charged (as in turbocharged and supercharged) four-cylinder engine up front, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and 34 kilowatt hours’ worth of lithium-ion battery cells. Produced in merely 1,500 units in Chengdu, the 1 has been recalled over a manufacturing defect that leads to battery overheating at 100 percent SOC.
Care to guess which company is responsible for the defective cells? None other than Zhejiang Forever New Energy Technology Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the Chinese multinational that owns Volvo’s car division and Polestar.
Volvo Cars informed Polestar of the concern on September 7th as per the chronology listed in the attached report. Deemed critical by the Critical Management Team on September 12th, the overheating condition was then investigated. A field service action was confirmed on December 14th, and Polestar started implementing said field service action the following day.
No fewer than 66 examples are called back in the United States according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicles produced for the 2020 and 2021 model years in the period between September 11th, 2019 and May 12th, 2021. Polestar informs affected owners that the car won’t show any warnings prior to the battery cells overheating when the battery is fully charged, which makes this concern all the more dangerous for the driver and both the front and rear passengers.
Rather than replacing the iffy cells, Polestar is rolling out an interim remedy in the guise of a software update designed to minimize the risk of a thermal event. As expected, the software update in question doesn’t allow the lithium-ion battery to be charged to 100 percent state of charge.
The permanent remedy, which is expected to become available in the second quarter of 2023, will be to replace all defective hardware. Polestar 1 owners will be informed of this campaign no later than December 23rd.
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