March 29, Polestar Automotive Sales Co., Ltd. filed a recall plan with the State Administration for Market Regulation under the requirements of the Regulations on the Recall of Defective Automobile Products and the Implementation Measures for the Regulations on the Recall of Defective Automobile Products. It decided to recall some of the 2023-2024 domestic Polestar 4 pure electric vehicles produced from November 29, 2023, to February 1, 2024, totaling 1,867 vehicles.
The reason for the recall is that some vehicles within the scope of this recall may trigger brake control downgrade due to software problems of the brake controller, resulting in the failure of functions such as brake electronic assist and the weakening of brake efficiency, which poses a safety hazard. If the user encounters a vehicle instrument prompt of a brake system failure, it is recommended to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle and increase the braking pedal force during braking.
In response to the above defects, Polestar Automotive Sales Co., Ltd. will use vehicle remote upgrade (OTA) technology to upgrade the software for the vehicles within the recall scope free of charge; for vehicles that cannot be upgraded through OTA technology, Polestar Automotive Sales Co., Ltd. will actively contact relevant users to upgrade the vehicles free of charge to eliminate safety hazards.
Polestar is an independent high-end electric vehicle brand jointly established and launched by Volvo and Geely. Its headquarters is located in Gothenburg, Sweden, and it mainly competes with Tesla in the auto market. Up to now, Polestar has launched Polestar 1, Polestar 2, Polestar 3, Polestar 4, Polestar 5, and Polestar 6. Among them, Polestar 4 is the second SUV model under Polestar Automotive. It is built on the HAOHAN (SEA) architecture under Geely Holding Group and was launched at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show. The price range is 349,800-533,800 yuan. Later, at the 2023 Guangzhou Auto Show, new benefits were announced, and the latest official guide price is 299,900-399,900 yuan, with a 49,900-yuan reduction in the starting price.
In terms of appearance, compared with the Polestar vehicle series, the Polestar 4’s exterior design is full of a sense of technology and future, with a unique star-shaped air intake grille and L-shaped lamp groups on both sides. The shape is also sharp. On the side of the body, the Polestar 4 adopts a slip-back shape, with smooth side lines and the popular hidden door handles, frameless doors, and frameless exterior mirrors. The overall visual effect is full of a sense of power. At the rear of the car, the Polestar 4 has a relatively simple design, with a “several”-shaped through-type taillight. The vehicle is not equipped with a rear windshield, and the image is transmitted directly to the inside rearview mirror through a top-mounted camera. In terms of size, the Polestar 4 has a length, width, and height of 4839/1994/1544mm, and a wheelbase of 2999mm. It is positioned as a medium and large SUV, with a size between Polestar 2/3.
In terms of the interior, the Polestar 4 adopts a simple design style as a whole. Apart from a knob, there are basically no physical buttons in the center console. The interior can provide up to 4 display systems, including a 10.2-inch driver’s instrument screen, a 15.4-inch horizontal center control screen, a 14.7-inch (projected size) W-HUD head-up display, and a 5.7-inch rear center control screen. The central control system is built based on the Meizu car machine system, and the UI is designed by Polestar itself. In terms of power, the Polestar 4 provides a single-motor version and a dual-motor version for users to choose from. The dual-motor version is equipped with a front and rear dual permanent magnet synchronous motor (200 kilowatts front and rear), with a maximum torque of 686 N·m; the single-motor version is equipped with a rear permanent magnet synchronous motor, and the maximum power of the rear drive motor is 200 kilowatts, with a maximum torque of 343 N·m.
Data shows that in 2023, Polestar’s global cumulative sales increased by 6% year-on-year to 54,600 vehicles. It should be noted that unlike other brands under Geely, Polestar Automotive mainly focuses on overseas markets, and its voice in the Chinese market is not high. Polestar Automotive has hardly disclosed its sales performance in the Chinese market.
It is reported that in 2021, Polestar sold 2,048 vehicles in China; in 2022, it was 1,717 vehicles, and in 2023, it dropped to 1,100 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 34%, which is far behind the mainstream auto companies in the auto market. Industry insiders believe that the key reason for Polestar’s poor sales in China is that it places too much emphasis on performance and fails to match the positioning with domestic users. Polestar’s product price range is between 200,000 and 1.5 million yuan, which is relatively high compared to most new domestic car makers. For Polestar, if it cannot make rapid changes in its products to adapt to the Chinese market, it is also not ruled out the possibility of being eliminated by the market.
