Designing Women at Polestar: In Charge of Production, Engineering and Sustainability
Beatrice Simonsson and Fredrika Klarén are leading Polestar to new sustainable and performance heights. And that's just the start for this luxury performance electric car brand.
Evelyn Kanter
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No wonder the Polestar 3 is such a smart car.
Two of the highest-ranking executives at electric car manufacturer Polestar are women, and both have a major impact on design, safety, sustainability and more.
I had the chance to chat with Beatrice Simonsson and Fredrika Klarén at the New York City launch of the new Polestar 3 electric SUV. The car is a game-changer, no doubt due to the inspiration and vision that they both bring to this electric car. It’s loaded with comfort and safety features, 270-300 miles per charge and 489-517 hp, depending on whether it’s the basic or upgraded model.
Beatrice Simonsson is one of the few female product managers in the automotive world. She decides what features a vehicle will have, the production schedule, and the plans for new models in the pipeline. With at least three more new models to be launched by the end of the decade, she admits she’s “quite busy”.
“I set the prerequisites,” she told me, from battery size and driving range, to cargo space, wheel size and exterior and interior colors to the number of USB ports. Then her team of ten engineers, designers and other experts gets to work. It’s a delicate balance of “time, technology and cost”, she acknowledged.
Safety is an integral part of every Polestar design, since the company was founded by Volvo and has since split off. “We have the backbone of 90 years of expertise, and our independence makes us stronger,” she said.
Related: Polestar 2 EV: The Coolest Car You’ve Never Heard Of; And It’s Electric
Polestar 3 cockpit. Photo: Evelyn Kanter
Beatrice Simonsson is a Mechanical Engineer
And as Head of Product Management and Specialization, she leans on that expertise. She originally wanted to be a math teacher, and got interested in engineering in college. One of four sisters, “I am the boy in the family,” she joked, always tinkering as a kid, including with her car enthusiast dad.
Beatrice is passionate about getting more women into math and science programs, including engineering, not just in her native Sweden, but around the world. I told her about STEM programs in the USA – for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – and watched her absorb the concept, so don’t be surprised if Polestar gets involved.
Sustainability Chief Fredrika Klarén has a Fashion Background
That background included evaluating the carbon footprint of the production cycle of fabrics. At Polestar, Fredrika’s main focus is reducing the impact of battery production along with the rest of the assembly line.
She is passionate about renewable energy, and believes that “all production facilities in the world” must operate on renewables, such as the factory which produces the Polestar 2. For example, the VW factory in Chattanooga, Tenn. is powered primarily by solar energy and was the world’s first LEED certified auto manufacturing plant.
What Fredrika described to me as her “moon shot goal” is for the production of steel, aluminum and even plastics also be via sustainable, renewable energy. In 2022, the company reduced relative CO2 emissions by eight percent (8%) per vehicle produced.
“If we can do that in one year, imagine what we can do over the lifecycle of a vehicle,” she said.
Related: Are Electric Cars Actually Better for the Environment?
Polestar 3 back seat. Photo: Evelyn Kanter
Polestar 3 Interiors are all Sustainable
And that includes leather and wool, which are by-products of meat production, materials that might otherwise might be wasted. For vegans, there’s a bio-based (non-oil) vinyl with a soft fabric feel.
The 2024 Polestar 3 goes on sale during the second half of 2023 and it’s expected to deliver a lot of power as well as luxury. The base model will deliver 489 HP and the AWD Performance model will generate 517 HP. Driving range is expected to be 270 miles in the standard model and 300 in the the Performance model.
Both offer “creature features” such as soft-closing doors, a 14.5 inch multimedia screen, and 25-speaker surround-sound systems. Volvo-based safety features include adaptive cruise control, heads-up display and an eye-tracker camera that warns a drowsy driver to wake up.
An important family-friendly feature is a system of sensors that help drivers avoid leaving behind a child or a pet in a locked car.
The Polestar 3 will be the first Polestar model built in America – at Volvo’s plant in South Carolina, where the S60 sedan and new XC90 SUV are built. Pricing starts at $85,300 – minus the $7,500 federal tax credit that buyers will qualify for because it’s built in the US.
Related: Charging an Electric Car is as Easy as 1, 2, 3
Polestar 3 and me. Photo: Evelyn Kanter
The Automotive World Needs You, So Don’t be Shy!
Both Beatrice and Fredika also are passionate about getting more women into automotive design, engineering and production. “We want our voices heard,” said Fredika. We should not be shy, said Beatrice. Women should “stand up, speak up, and say what we think”.
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