Polestar Rejects Hybrid; Volvo Will Take Over

The Sino-Swedish brand confirms its 100% electric shift and excludes any hybrid or thermal powertrains.

The message is clear: Polestar will produce neither hybrids nor thermal models. While several manufacturers are revising their strategies in the face of slowing electric vehicle sales, the Sino-Swedish brand remains steadfast. For its CEO, the future of the automobile lies exclusively in electrification.

Arising from a split with Volvo Cars and controlled by the Geely group, Polestar did begin its modern history with a plug-in hybrid coupe, the Polestar 1. This limited-production model remains to this day the only vehicle from the brand equipped with a thermal engine. Since then, all launches have been 100% electric, and this direction will not change.

In a context where some markets, particularly in the United States, are reducing incentives for purchasing electric vehicles, several historical players are reinvesting in hybrids to secure their volumes. Polestar is making the opposite choice. The brand believes that the decarbonization of the automotive sector relies on the gradual abandonment of emission-based powertrains, even partial ones. According to its management, adding hybrids would complicate the lineup, mobilize additional resources, and blur its positioning.

This strategy comes as Polestar continues its international expansion and broadens its lineup with new electric SUVs and sedans. Despite ongoing financial losses, the company is targeting a younger clientele than the industry average, sensitive to climate issues and attached to a clearly differentiated identity.

By leaving hybrids to Volvo and other brands within the Geely group, Polestar claims a strong uniqueness: to be an exclusively electric manufacturer in an automotive landscape still in transition. For the brand, total electrification is not an option among others, but the logical trajectory of the industry.

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