Polestar has confirmed that it remains optimistic about its lofty goal to create a truly climate-neutral car, telling GB News that the "ambition stays".
The premium Swedish car brand said it was working hard to meet the 2030 deadline to create a revolutionary car that does not produce any emissions at the tailpipe, or anywhere along the manufacturing process.
Polestar is collaborating with a number of unique partners, including SSAB, which works to produce steel where the carbon emissions are "virtually zero" using recycled steel and fossil-free energy.
The Polestar 0 project, which is led by Hans Pehrson, is innovating and recasting materials to produce a vehicle without any greenhouse gas emissions.
Polestar continues to take steps to cut its production emissions, having achieved a 24.7 per cent reduction in emissions per vehicle sold compared to its base year.
It announced in its 2024 sustainability report that it would be able to produce an equivalent Polestar 2 with a carbon footprint that would be 10 tonnes lower today than when the project started in 2020.
Speaking to GB News, Fredrika Klarén, head of sustainability at Polestar, said policy changes were making the switch to zero emission vehicles more difficult.
The European Union announced in December that it would water down its pledge to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, instead opting for automakers to comply with a 90 per cent tailpipe emissions reduction target.
The Swedish manufacturer is developing the Polestar 0 project, with the aim of creating a truly carbon neutral electric car
|POLESTAR
The remaining 10 per cent of emissions must be compensated through a range of measures, including low-carbon steel made in the UK, e-fuels and biofuels.
Commenting on Europe's new plans, Ms Klarén said: "In a way, it's concerning because we want the industry to start focusing on production-related emissions.
"We want to just remove the tailpipe emissions so that we can get on track with the production-related emissions.
"For as long as the policymakers delay the requirements on the industry to cut tailpipe emissions, the longer we will have to wait until they fully get on the topic of production emissions."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The Swedish manufacturer introduced the Polestar 0 project in 2021
|POLESTAR
She described this as a "risk", noting that the 2030 and 2035 deadlines gave manufacturers, especially those who are electric-only, guidance and "clarity" for the business.
Labour remains committed to the phase out of new petrol and diesel car sales across the UK by 2030, while only zero emission vehicles will be sold from 2035 onwards.
This is being supported by the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, which requires manufacturers to have 33 per cent of sales be electric by the end of this year, before reaching 80 per cent at the end of the decade.
Ms Klarén said policies like these, as well as requirements to install so-called "battery passports" in new electric vehicles, were "very welcome" to ensure more drivers can get behind the wheel of a zero emission car.
Polestar is
| POLESTARThe number of parts included in an electric vehicle can also have an impact on its total carbon footprint, with a two-tonne car potentially creating 57 tonnes of greenhouse gases upstream in the production cycle.
Ms Klarén and the Swedish manufacturer remain optimistic about the Polestar 0 project, with hopes that the process will push other manufacturers to take sustainability seriously.
Commenting on the Polestar 0 project, environmental expert Matt Finch, told GB News: "You've got to give credit to Polestar.
"Whilst it's already offering drivers a cleaner way to drive, it's showing other businesses a cleaner way to exist.
"With JFK-esque echoes, Polestar management has chosen to put time and effort into Polestar 0, even though it's hard. Let's hope they stay the course."