The upcoming Polestar 3 hasn’t gone into production yet, but parent company Geely has already decided to give it a discount that slashes the EV’s price by nearly $10,000. Carmakers are usually timid with pricing forecasts for their latest models because final MSRPs are (supposedly) subject to things like volatile supply chains and the ever-increasing cost of labor and materials. In reality, carmakers would rather not leave money on the table. So, the prices of new models tend to go up from their original estimates. But that’s not the case with the Polestar 3, the EV maker’s first SUV model to be released.
When the Polestar 3 debuted in 2022, Polestar was still the EV spinoff of Volvo, but it’s now wholly owned and operated by Chinese auto giant Geely. When it was first revealed, the Polestar 3 was priced at $83,900 for a base model. The price is now $73,400, minus a $1,400 destination charge, which brings the new total to $74,800 for a base model Polestar 3, as the Verge reports:
Polestar, which was backed by Volvo but is now overseen by Volvo’s Chinese parent company, Geely, first announced the 3 back in October 2022. At the time, the company said the high-tech SUV would start at $83,900, placing it squarely in the luxury segment of vehicles.
But now, Polestar says the price for a Polestar 3 Long Range with all-wheel drive will start at $73,400. With the $1,400 destination charge, that increases to $74,800 — which is still a long way off from $84,000. That version will start production during the second quarter of 2024 (hey, that’s now!), with customers able to take delivery in the summer.
Given that production of the Polestar 3 is still upcoming, that presumably makes the SUV a 2025 model year. Production will begin in Chengdu, China, but the assembly line will pick up at a U.S. plant in Charleston, South Carolina, where the Volvo EX90 is also made.
The Polestar 3 bears a striking resemblance to the Volvo EX90, which will be that much more confusing now that Volvo and Polestar parted ways. Whether that’s for better or worse is yet to be seen, but, at the very least, Polestar is throwing in a consolation prize for those who valued the Volvo connection in the form of the Polestar 3’s Pilot pack, which is now standard equipment on all models of the SUV’s lineup.
The Pilot pack comes with advanced driver-assistance features, such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, automated lane changes and heads-up display. Such a package would usually be a pricy add-on but is now baked into the lower starting price of the Polestar 3. The price has gone down by such a sizable sum that the Verge says a fully-loaded Polestar 3 is now within spitting distance of the EV’s original starting price. A Polestar 3 outfitted with all three Pilot, Plus and Performance packages will come in at $85,400 including destination.
That adds things like a Bowers and Wilkins audio system with 25 speakers. Geez. What do you even call that, a 23.2 surround sound system? You also get nicer seats made out of “animal welfare wool,” heated rear seats and 22-inch forged wheels if you opt for a Polestar 3 with everything. The Performance pack increases the, well, performance of the SUV for a total of 517 horsepower and 671 lb-ft of torque.
Again, you get all that for $85,400, which is only $100 over the original price of the base model at $85,300 when accounting for destination. Comparing that to the new starting price of $74,800 yields a difference of $10,500. How kind of Polestar to find an extra $10,000 in savings for U.S. buyers, who will reportedly start receiving their EVs in the summer. Even then, the price is still steep, and unless buyers lease the Polestar 3, it is ineligible for a $7,500 EV tax credit in the U.S.
