Better range, more features for Polestar 2 via OTA software updates
The Polestar 2 is an EV that promises to get better with age.
Priced from $59,900 before on-road costs, the Tesla Model 3 rival that goes on sale in Australia within weeks will continue to benefit from future over-the-air (OTA) software updates that have already incrementally improved the car’s range.
“Absolutely,” was the answer from the Polestar Head of Product Beatrice Simonsson when asked if a Polestar 2 someone buys this year will be better 12 months later.
She said as well as improving the hardware in the car, OTA software updates would be a key pillar for the brand, as it was for the brand that pioneered the technology, Tesla.
“That complete system, with the software and over the updates is really, really important,” she says.
“Remote over-the-air update ability means we can keep this car fresh, up to date at all times, pushing software out regularly to all of our owners and giving them new features,” says Brent Ellis, the man in charge of communicating the brand to new markets such as Australia.
In an interview with Australian journalists Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath confirmed the software engineering department was the largest for the Swedish-based brand that is part owned by Volvo and its parent Geely.
“The biggest department definitely is software development nowadays in R and D,” says Ingenlath.
“Software definitely is what takes most of our attention, most of our care, most of our investment today and in the future.”
Yet Ingenlath also very much values the hardware in the car.
“A car is still much more than just a computer on wheels. It has that emotional experience … there is indeed a still very mechanic nature to the car.”
So much so that Polestar plans to invest in developing its own electric motors in future, in part to step up its focus on performance and driving excitement but also to differentiate itself from Volvo (the Polestar 2 shares its architecture and electrical components with the Volvo XC40 Pure Electric).
