How Polestar Slashed EV Carbon Footprints by a Quarter

Swedish EV brand Polestar is making strides in its business with a 76% increase in Q1 2025 sales compared to the previous year.

Yet, growth in business is often met with challenges concerning environmental impact, which Polestar is keen to address.

EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions and, even when accounting for emissions from electricity generation, emit significantly less CO₂ per mile than conventional cars. 

However, the production process, especially for EV batteries, involves significant energy consumption and environmental risks, particularly due to raw material extraction.

Polestar has implemented measures to reduce the carbon footprint of its vehicles, achieving a 25% reduction in emissions per EV sold according to its sustainability report.

“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 of Polestar’s vehicles

Since the initial life cycle assessment of the Polestar 2 in 2020, Polestar launched the Polestar 0 project to tackle sustainability issues in EV production.

The total emissions of each Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor is 23.1 tCO₂e, a reduction 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.”

A sneak peek at the Polestar 5 and Polestar 7

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

The car’s entire chassis is constructed from bonded aluminium. 

This material is traditionally reserved for limited-edition performance cars, offering lighter and longer range vehicles that consume less energy.

To reduce the aluminium’s carbon footprint, Polestar continues to focus on increasing the use of low-carbon aluminium from smelters using hydroelectric power and recycled aluminium. 

For the EV’s interior, Polestar has worked with Bcomp to create a version of ampliTex material with its own signature weave. 

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

Polestar 7 will be the company’s first compact SUV, putting the company into the fastest-growing market segment. 

The vehicle is planned to be manufactured exclusively 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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