Polestar confirmed for NZ

 Sweden’s electric car maker will start with a plush fastback.

 CONFIRMATION has at last come from Sweden that New Zealand is to be a market for Polestar, with the flag flying before year-end. 

The electric car marque will initially represent with its current offer, the Polestar 2, a five-door five seat fastback, but it’s probable a sister model due to be unveiled in 2022 will also migrate here. 

Exact model specifications and pricing information will be confirmed closer to market launch timing.

Polestar is owned by Volvo Cars and by extension its parent company Geely, but operates as a separate entity.

Polestar 2 sits on the same underpinning as sister company’s Volvo’s XC40 crossover, but is a larger car at almost 4.6 metres long, 1.9 metres wide and nearly 1.5 metres tall.

Like its now defunct forebear, the Polestar 1, a plug-in hybrid, the 2 was first seen as a Volvo concept car. The Polestar name also has a Volvo background – it was once Volvo's racing skunkworks; brought to attention in this part of the world through the efforts of Scott McLaughlin. That link ended when it morphed into a standalone electric brand.

 The model is at its most affluent and aggressive in a prime Performance Pack representation, which sells for around $120,000 in European markets.

 This version has Brembo brakes and Ohlins adjustable dampers – which have to be hand-adjusted - and runs with twin 150kW electric motors, one mounted on each axle, fed by a 78kWh lithium ion battery, with maximum power of 305kW and 600Nm torque.

Cited range on the WLTP measure is 470km, top speed is 204kmh and it belies its 2123kg weight to achieve 0-100kmh in 4.7 seconds.

The interior is laid out in quality materials but the main attraction is a Tesla-like portrait touchscreen dominating the centre of the dash. This measures 11 inches across the diagonal and it is powered by a Google OS. The model has a digital instrument cluster, with graphics in Swedish Gold. As you do. 

 Next year Polestar is expected to release the 3, which shares a brand-new platform with the next-generation Volvo XC90. This SPA2 underpinning is destined for several other large Volvos. The 3 is expected to deliver with a coupe-like roof, so will be a strict five-seater, whereas the XC90 has seven seats.

With Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea also announced as new markets, the upmarket electric arm of Volvo will represent broadly across the Asia Pacific and will take its global footprint to 18 countries by the end of the year.

“The brand is gathering real momentum, and it is great to be expanding with Polestar 2 beyond our initial global markets in China, North America and Europe,” says Polestar’s chief executive, Thomas Ingenlath.

Preparations in these markets are at different stages as the brand organises market launches and eventually the opening of online sales.

Specific dates and details for each market will be published locally to include model specification and product pricing.

Effort to keep Polestar and Volvo separate is taken seriously in Europe, where rather than sharing showroom space, Polestar cars are offered from a network of 'Polestar Spaces', usually situated in busy town-centre locations.

In South Korea and Australia, local independent Polestar sales units are being established and new managing directors have already been appointed.

The other markets will likely be operated on an importer basis, with local partners to be confirmed in due course, tonight’s announcement says.

 “Specific roll-out timing is at an advanced planning stage and the recruitment of key individuals has begun,” comments Nathan Forshaw, Polestar’s new head of the China and Asia Pacific regions.  

“While we are growing rapidly, we are ensuring both our organisation and processes ensure a consistent and truly Polestar experience for our customers, wherever they are based.”

Volvo fired up about dropping ICE

 Sweden’s ambition to produce only fully electric cars by 2030 conceivably puts a PHEV XC40 about to come on sale in NZ on a hit list. But it should achieve a full life, the brand reckons.

Volvo’s EV strategy announcement means the XC40 Recharge PHEV (above) just introducing to New Zealand now will be superseded by 2030 by a new line of full electric products, starting with the C40 Recharge (below) that is destined to on sale in NZ next year.

VOLVO announcing overnight its intent to sell only battery-driven cars within 10 years has highlighted the interim status of a just-arrived hybrid sports utility that the make’s New Zealand distributor is using to woo electric-favouring consumers. 

The decision out of Sweden comes with announcement of a new fully electric crossover, the C40 Recharge, that will likely be on sale here next year.

The pledge to phase out all car models with internal combustion engines by 2030 potentially means the new $84,900 XC40 Recharge nydrid that is being promoted as Volvo New Zealand’s sole electric choice of the moment might yet have a reasonably modest life span.

Is that going to be a turn-off? Volvo New Zealand boss Ben Montgomery does not believe the market will judge the PHEV car as any kind of temporary technology.

He stands by expectation, expressed in mid-February, that the Recharge PHEV will be a strong seller.

“It’s still an education process with electric, in terms of what’s available and what it does and what’s available to buy right now.

“I think the PHEV is that perfect halfway step, where you are getting the benefits of electric-only propulsion but at the same time you have not got those range queries. 

“So it’s the perfect stepping stone for us.

“We have still got seven years before the complete end of ICE (internal combustion engines) and in the meantime we are taking some really big steps locally. 

“From model year 2022 there will be no diesels and we are moving toward MHEV (mild hybrid) and PHEV in the 60 and 90 range. It will be incremental steps, but I don’t think it will put customers off.”

Volvo previously announced that by 2025, half of its sales would be fully electric, with the rest being hybrids. It is also committed to becoming climate neutral by 2040 and putting one million EVs on the roads within the next four years.

Montgomery says Kiwis can expect to see a rapid increase in the access of premium electrified and hybrid models available here. 

Plug-in hybrids now make up almost a third of Volvo sales in Europe, making Volvo the leading plug-in premium brand when measured by the share of its total sales volume.  

“The XC40 PHEV accounts for a significant part of this global growth and early local interest suggests this model will make up a solid proportion of our New Zealand EV/hybrid sales this year,” he says. 

The Recharge PHEV’s lab-tested fuel economy is 2.2 litres per 100km compared to the petrol-only XC40s range between 7.7 and 8.0L/100km. However, fuel consumption drops to zero when the electric motor is used alone - with a 44km range.

Customer deliveries are expected to commence from the second half of the year.

By the time the C40 Recharge hits NZ showrooms the XC40 will also be available in a fully electric format. 

The fully electric XC40 – also called a Recharge model - and the C40 appear destined to have a common drivetrain, according to detail so far released by Volvo.  

Both cars are cited to pack 300kW from two motors that will power all four wheels and have a 78kWh battery that can charge to 80 percent on a fast charger in 40 minutes. The fully electric XC40 is expected to deliver 350-400kms in the real world whereas the C40 is cited as being able to clock 420kms before need for replenishment.

Potential for the C40 and XC40 to clash for consumer consideration seems probable, given the new car’s styling direction. Montgomery reckons the C40 will build on the XC40’s popularity. He suggests it is aimed at a younger demographic but also notes it delivers “all the benefits of an SUV but with a lower and sleeker design.” 

The C40 is being called the first Volvo production car that has been wholly designed to take just an electric powertrain.

That claim ignores that a Volvo adjunct, Polestar, already has two electric cars in production. Polestar has so far focused on left hand drive markets, but its latest product will go into right-hand drive his year and Volvo NZ has indicated desire to sell that model here, again with 2022 being the likely launch timing.

Volvo says it is trying to capitalise on growing demand for electric cars, including in China, which is already one of its biggest markets. It also acknowledges that carmakers cannot ignore pressure from governments around the world to beef up their electric car plans.

New cars and vans powered wholly by petrol and diesel will not be sold in the UK from 2030, for example.

Volvo's chief technology officer, Henrik Green, said the company needed to switch focus: "There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine."

Bjorn Annwall, head of Europe for Volvo, says the plan fits with both Volvo's image and commercial interests.

“At Volvo our customers expect high levels of us when it comes to human safety and they are starting to expect exactly the same thing when it comes to planetary safety, we aim to live up to that, it's the right thing to do,” he told the BBC.

“The fully electric premium segment will be the fastest growing part of the automotive market, so it's very natural to focus on that.”

Volvo will not be investing in cars with hydrogen fuel cells, as it does not think there will be enough demand from customers. There is also a question mark over hydrogen's availability in comparison with charging points for electric cars, a spokesman said.

Last month, Volvo abandoned plans to merge with Chinese car giant Geely. But the two companies said that they would form a partnership instead to make components for electric cars that would be used by both firms.

Geely already has an electric car brand, Lynk and Co, whose product bases off Volvo underpinnings. So car Lynk and Co has restricted to left hand drive but it has not discounted re-engineering for right-hand drive markets to further enhance exports potentials, as other Chinese makes are now doing.

The XC40 Recharge PHEV has already travelled to Auckland dealerships. The remaining visits are to: Duncan and Ebbett, Tauranga on March 13-14; Duncan and Ebbett, Hamilton, March 20-21; Bayswater European, Napier. April 10-11; Armstrong’s Wellington, April 17-18; Archibald’s Christchurch, April 24-26 and Armstrong’s Dunedin, May 8-9.

Future-looking Volvos coming, ready or not

The next XC90 coming here is designed to carry a feature considered the key to unlocking fully automated driving.

How Lidar sees the world.

THE next generation of a Volvo car strongly supported by Kiwis will avail within three years with technology crucial to enabling safe automated driving – but whether it can be used effectively here then is far from certain.

The Swedish car brand’s local distributor has confirmed it is line for the next XC90, a large seven-seater luxury sports utility, debuting an advanced self-driving suite using lidar.

Lidar is a radar that – as the acronym suggests – uses light detection and ranging to measures distance using pulsed laser light to generate a highly accurate 3D map of the world around the car. 

Lidar sensors are considered by many automakers and tech companies an essential piece of technology to safely roll out autonomous vehicles.

Because? Just like human-driven cars, vehicles enacting autonomously must face traffic congestion, potholes, trees and numerous other obstacles. Lidar is the technology that works as an ‘eye’ and to opportune accuracy gains far beyond the level from existing radar and camera technology that’s already in operation and increasingly commonplace, especially in luxury brands.

With Lidar Volvo is promising it will deliver fully autonomous vehicles which can navigate highways. With the emphasis on the last word. This is not designed to enable full-time hands-off driving in any other scenario. City streets, country roads, carparks, your driveway, the beach … no, too hard. There will still be a steering wheel, still the need for a driver.

Volvo has been at the forefront with its highway pilot system, which in current form uses radar, cameras and software to read road conditions well enough to be a semi-autonomous aid. It fits as standard to most product now.

However, the new system, developed with a highly secretive Silicon Valley start-up, Luminar, is a significant world-first step beyond that ability, Volvo New Zealand general manager Coby Duggan says.

What’s unveiled now potentially feeds off a trial Volvo conducted on part of Tauranga’s motorway back in 2016 that became first official trial of an autonomous driving system in this country in real world conditions.

In that test, the trial car – also an XC90, but the current model – used a more sophisticated version of the self-drive technology presently available in production models to navigate the road.

Driver intervention was minimal, only required to u-turn at the halfway point of the 15km journey. What impressed onlookers and trial partners the Ministry of Transport, NZTA, Trafinz and the maker was how the car operated seamlessly and safely alongside other vehicles.

At that time the smarts were just in Beta form – the car had to be smartened with software brought in from Sweden (on a memory stick), with an expert from Gothenburg head office to operate it.

Much progress has since occurred with the ‘Drive Me’ development programme, including an initiative in Sweden that saw 100 families testing fully autonomous vehicles on public roads. 

Now comes the overnight announcement of the lidar integration being set for production. 

Volvo, whose parent is Chinese giant Geely, says this latest advance will be part of a hardware package for vehicles on its second-generation of the Scalable Product Architecture that underpins all current models.

Coby Duggan

That programme kicks off with the next XC90, which Duggan says is set to avail here in late 2023, a year after international release.

Volvo’s confidence in the new system is such it has immediately assured it will take full liability should anything go wrong.

It says the lidar package might initially start out an option, but will eventually become a standard feature.

Either way, Duggan says it is probable all new XC90s will carry the core electronic elements – and presumably at least the lidar housing - regardless of how prepared export markets are for automated driving.

Luminar and Volvo have not revealed how much this version of highway pilot might cost. Luminar has previously said its Iris lidar unit will cost less than $NZ1600 per unit for production vehicles seeking full autonomy and about $NZ800 for version used for more limited purposes like driver assistance.

Will New Zealand be ready for this? Hard to say. Realistically, it would likely only prove useful on motorways built to latest design standard and in perfect order; as Tauranga’s was. Roadworks, congestion, confusing markings … these remain a challenge even for tech in its most advanced form.

All the same, from a legislative perspective, NZ is well-placed for the ‘if’ and ‘ when’ of autonomous driving and there seems to be a healthy consumer interest in hands-free driving.

“So, yeah, I think we are getting there. Yes, we still need to understand more about what needs to happen in infrastructure terms to make sure the cars are able to perform as they are intended to.

“Yet we’ve always said the NZ is quite open to this and is receptive to an uptake of new tech.

“From a legislative perspective it is well prepared and NZ customers certainly seem to be keen to explore what’s available. But I also think the condition of the roads will also be pretty critical and there’s probably lots of work yet to be done in that respect.”

Of course, NZ standing out as a particularly tasty test site for real world AI driving only carries so much currency - the reality remains that ours is a small country so generally has to wait its turn.”

Current XC90 is a top seller for Volvo NZ

In some respects, it’s no different to where NZ finds itself with electric vehicles; makers appreciate our high level of renewable energy and identify the infrastructure is reasonably good, yet still have to give bigger markets priority.

“In some respects it would be nice to think we could be at the forefront but the reality is … we won’t necessarily be landing those cars first.”

Even so, in broad terms and regardless that it’s too early to unwrap where we place in Volvo’s planning, the tech is great to see and he anticipates his office and the sales network will receive plenty of customer inquiry.

It’s going to be a learning experience for everyone. “The more that we know about the technology in advance of the car arriving then the more we can start that education process.”

It’s not as if owners will be going in cold. Current Volvos are, like most modern luxury cars, equipped to engage semi-autonomous hands-off operation in specific conditions and for short duration.

“The notion of autonomous driving in the first instance is about making the most boring and the most unsafe aspects of driving safer and more convenient. There is obviously a piece of that depending on the infrastructure being what it needs to be, but obviously this (new) tech takes it forward.”

Volvo is hardly first to seek to adopt Lidar; the advancement here is as much as anything else in the packaging of a system that sends out thousands of laser pulses every second, these colliding with the surrounding objects and reflecting back to create a 3D point cloud. An onboard computer records each laser’s reflection point and translates this rapidly updating point cloud into an animated 3D representation. What has kept lidar off cars is cost and the ungainliness of the set-up: Who wants a car with a bucket-sized rotating device – requisite for a 360 degree view - installed on the roof or bonnet?

Luminar’s sensors are sited within the car’s roofline.

Well, no-one. Luminar’s solution is to forgo looking anywhere but ahead. So it’s sensors are fixed in place with a 120-degree horizontal field of view. This allows Volvo plans to integrate Luminar's iris sensors into the car's roof just above the windshield, where it will have a good view of the road ahead of the vehicle. The whole thing is really compact, about the size of really thick sandwich.

Luminar CEO Austin Russell says the announcement also represents years of work bringing down the cost of its technology. Luminar's technology is built around a relatively exotic type of laser operating at 1550nm. The fluid in the human eye is opaque to light at this frequency, allowing lidars to use higher power levels without running afoul of eye safety regulations. That helps Luminar's lidar achieve an impressive 250-metre range. 

The downside is that transmitting and receiving a 1550nm laser light requires the use of unusual and expensive semiconductor materials like indium-gallium arsenide (yeah, we also hope that one never comes up on The Chase). That's in contrast to conventional 905nm lidar systems that can be made using ubiquitous silicon-based components.

The perception software equally crucial to making it all work is still under development. The aim is to activate it wirelessly once it is verified to be safe in individual geographic locations. Volvo says it will continue to expand the capability of the software such as pushing up the maximum speed a vehicle can travel while driving autonomously. But it enforces this is primarily for highways. 

Even so, that’s a big step. And, yes, over time, updates over the air will expand the areas in which the car can drive itself. But Luminar enforces a safe introduction of autonomy is a gradual introduction – quite a different message, then, than we’ve heard from a certain someone in the electric car business.

Luminar’s Lidar packaging is a breakthrough