How Polestar is Leading on EV Emissions Reduction

Swedish EV maker Polestar is seeing major growth, with Q1 2025 sales up 76% on the previous year.

But as business expands, so can its environmental footprint – something Polestar is keen to limit.

EVs have no tailpipe emissions and even when factoring in electricity generation, they produce far less CO₂ per mile than petrol or diesel cars.

That said, making EVs still comes with challenges. Battery production uses a lot of energy and mining raw materials can damage ecosystems.

Polestar is working to lessen this impact and has already cut the carbon footprint of each EV sold by 25%.

“Global climate goals can’t be reached without a switch to electric vehicles, and I’ll even take it even further – electrification isn’t enough,” says Michael Lohscheller, CEO at Polestar, in the report. 

“That is why we’ve set a progressive roadmap to decouple our growth from climate impact. Basically, we cut emissions as we accelerate sales.

“The two objectives are compatible. It is not easy, and the path won’t always be linear, but this year I am proud to say that we have reduced our relative carbon footprint by 25% since our base year 2020.”

The sustainability impact: Polestar’s vehicles

Polestar began assessing the full environmental cost of its cars in 2020, starting with the flagship Polestar 2. This lifecycle study sparked the launch of the Polestar 0 project, which aims to tackle long-term sustainability challenges in EV production.

Since then, progress has been made. The total emissions of each Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor now stand at 23.1 tCO₂e, down from 26.1 tCO₂e in 2020.

Polestar’s sustainability report also shows that the Polestar 4 will have its lowest vehicle carbon footprint yet at just 21.3 tCO₂e.

Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability at Polestar, says: “I feel proud of the way Polestar has persevered in the face of adversity and geopolitical uncertainty. 

“Our commitment to sustainability and sense of what truly matters to us has never been clearer than after this year.

“We have been able to take important steps forward that drive true impact, for example, seeing our car with the lowest carbon footprint in our lineup, Polestar 4, hit the market, ready to replace fossil fuel cars.”

Introducing the Polestar 5 and Polestar 7

Polestar 5, the company says, “marks the debut of a completely new platform”.

Its chassis is made entirely from bonded aluminium – a material usually found in limited-edition performance cars. This allows for a lighter structure, helping to extend range and reduce energy use.

To cut aluminium’s carbon footprint, Polestar is upping its use of low-carbon aluminium from hydro-powered smelters and incorporating more recycled content.

Inside, Polestar has teamed up with Bcomp to develop a unique version of ampliTex, featuring a custom weave exclusive to the brand.

The material has a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional polymer-only options and uses less virgin plastic than conventional materials.

Polestar 7 will be the company’s first compact SUV, placing it in the fastest-growing market segment.

The vehicle is set to be manufactured solely in Europe.

The report says: “Over time, from Polestar 7 onwards, we will gradually move from a multi-platform approach to one single architecture, reducing complexity, costs and investments.”

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