The Polestar 2 will not be succeeded by the recently confirmed Polestar 7 SUV and instead get its own direct replacement towards the end of the decade.

The news, confirmed by new CEO Michael Lohscheller to Autocar today, dispels previous suggestions that the new Range Rover Evoque-sized 7 would slot into the line-up in place of the popular liftback.

Instead, Lohscheller – on his first official visit to London today – made it clear that Polestar was building and would maintain a five-tier model line-up for the future: the 2 (hatch), 3 (large SUV), 4 (large saloon), 5 (four-door performance coupé), 6 (ultra-low-volume sports car) and 7 (mid-sized SUV).  

Lohscheller revealed that the 2's replacement would be the second model after the 7 (the marque’s first European model) to adopt the single platform that Polestar plans to use for every new model in future.

Its identity is still to be officially revealed, as is the location of the marque’s first European plant, although Geely’s new plant in Slovakia looks a strong contender.

Polestar won’t yet put a date on the new 7’s arrival, let alone on replacing the 2, which Lohscheller reckons has “years to go”.

Lohscheller, who replaced Thomas Ingenlath last August, cites the 2 as his personal favourite model, because he believes it has a timeless quality that embodies Polestar’s core design values and has done so much to establish the company (170,000 sold, 35,000 in the UK) since it was launched in 2020.

He claims last year’s changes to the 2 improved it so much that other manufacturers would have called it a new model. 

Lohscheller is promising Polestar’s backers a sales volume improvement of 30% to 35% a year over the next three years.

“This is an ambitious target” he said, “but we are not dreaming. We now have three good cars in our showrooms and orders for the first quarter are up 37%. Even better, 55% of those orders are for our two newest cars, Polestar 3 and 4.”  

The biggest sales driver, he believes, will be Polestar’s adoption of a network of retailers well versed in selling cars, demonstrating and financing them, explaining their sometimes unfamiliar equipment.

Polestar’s number of UK sales outlets will grow from nine to 17 over the next 18 months and cars will be sold from dedicated spaces in Volvo dealerships.  

Lohscheller believes there will be very little sales cannibalisation; he is surprised and impressed by buyers’ clear perception of Polestar as a distinct brand.

The company will “transition away” from its former network of 'Spaces' in large shopping centres.  

Commenting on the UK government’s mandate for the sale of EVs, Lohscheller said Polestar strongly supports recent SMMT proposals to stimulate private sales: a halving of VAT to 10% for three years, an increase in the punitive ECS (expensive car supplement) threshold to £60,000 and a reduction from 20% to 5% on energy delivered through a public charger.  

However, he doesn't seek a change to the UK's 2030 cut-off date for the end of sales of pure -ICE cars - and would prefer to see plug-in hybrid sales end then too, rather than in 2035.

“The politicians should hold the course they have set,” said Lohscheller. “It is the correct course if they are really serious about net-zero. If they are not, they should tell us.” 

The UK is Polestar’s biggest market, believes Loscheller, partly because it is more agile and adaptable to change than others in Europe.

“You can get close the customers here,” he said, “and if you need to change the way things are done, you can do it quickly.”

The changes seem to be bearing fruit: in the fourth quarter of last year, UK Polestar orders doubled.  

Another UK advantage, Lohscheller believes, is the presence of Polestar's Coventry R&D centre, where the advanced, high-performance 5 is undergoing final development prior to a launch later this year.

“I tell Coventry people that I hope they’re really proud of this car,” he said, “with its advanced bonded-aluminium technology, its 900bhp and it’s 800V technology. It’s a halo car, and will probably be the most expensive model we offer. But it will be one of the most advanced cars in the world.”  

Lohscheller also revealed that Polestar’s future design direction will take a modest change of course, following the arrival of its new, ex-Audi design boss, Philipp Römers. 

“What we’ve achieved so far is really good,” he said, “but I’m asking Philipp to highlight the performance of our cars a little more. I don’t believe they look quite as capable as they actually are. They should look a little more confident; they are maybe bit too modest. But I don’t expect radical changes, and how the designers actually achieve these subtle changes will be up to them.”  

Opinion: Polestar boss finds freedom

Michael Lohscheller was very much a 'suit' in his previous big car-company jobs. At Opel, for example, he was constrained by the company’s many difficulties: a long string of loss making years, an odd relationship with Vauxhall (which contributed less and less to the physical cars) and the constant need to please a bunch of big bosses who saw very little but the red ink.  

As a result, his management style was competent but conservative and his utterances in interviews were short and careful. Which made the amusing, wise-cracking person I’ve just encountered in a Polestar guise seem like a different person.  

The new-edition Lohscheller seems to have an impressive freedom to operate. He also seems to love Polestar not only for the way its cars drive (although he can talk enthusiastically about EV performance) but also for the importance of the company’s objective of offering genuinely zero-carbon transport and leading the automotive world in sustainability.  

He’s a natural great-outdoors man (lean and athletic, because his lifelong hobby is running), and when we met in London, he had just put away a good few miles along the Thames Path.

He knows London well, having studied and worked here in the past, and enjoys coming back.  

Talking about the Polestar job, Lohscheller readily acknowledges its great appeal. “I have a fantastic team,” he said. “The cars are very, very good, and I’m convinced people want them and need them.

"In the past, I’ve worked in places with systems that were in place for many years and weren’t going to change. Here, everything we do helps to shape something very important. I’m super optimistic.”