Polestar 4’s life cycle assessment reveals impressive reductions in carbon footprint

Polestar has released the first full life cycle assessment of its upcoming Polestar 4, revealing impressive reductions in its carbon footprint compared to the Polestar 2. The new car is expected to be the Swedish brand’s best-selling model to date.

Polestar is already a leader in electric vehicles but has taken another step forward in its quest to reduce vehicle emissions by publishing the total carbon footprint of its cars in the form of a life cycle assessment, or LCA. In this document, Polestar estimates the total carbon footprint of its models throughout manufacturing and use in excess of 200,000 km – taking into account variations in terms of electricity source.

The first Polestar car to get a full LCA was the 2, but Polestar has now revealed a full LCA for its upcoming fourth car, with significant improvements visible despite the latter being a larger car.

All three variants available at launch are covered, and the standard-range Polestar 4 single-engine model produces no less than 21 tonnes of CO2 when powered by 100 per cent sustainable energy sources. It’s hard to put these figures into context, but compared to the previous standard single-range Polestar 2, there’s a reduction of 4 tonnes, even though the 4 is a physically larger car. The Polestar Long Range 4 single motor and Long Range 4 dual motor are slightly more carbon dense, with 22 tons and 23 tons respectively.

Polestar also forecasts emissions figures for the Polestar 4 when powered from a typical EU and global energy mix, which show much larger CO2 footprints of 26 tonnes and 32 tonnes respectively. Both Polestar models have equivalent internal combustion engine (ICE) models that have much lower emissions. For example, a Volvo XC40 SUV with an ICE engine can produce up to 58 tons over its 200,000 km life cycle.

It is easy to overlook the reasons behind the move towards electric vehicles, but at its core lies the need to decarbonise global economies. Electric vehicles are key to achieving this goal, but while zero tailpipe emissions, there is still a cost in terms of carbon in the materials EVs are made with and the electricity that powers them. Polestar has positioned itself at the forefront of making these life cycle emissions transparent to consumers.

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