Polestar

The 2021 Polestar 2 electric sedan could gain a Tesla Model 3 Performance-rivalling variant in the coming years, if the brand's CEO's social media posts come to fruition. Images posted by Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath on Instagram show a white Polestar 2 electric sedan with body-coloured wheel-arch and bumper trim, and 21-inch black alloy wheels and large gold-painted brake calipers from the hybrid Polestar 1 coupe.

Any tech-obsessed Android user will know that unless you're using Google's own Pixel devices, updates to the operating system are often months late – and you'll be lucky to see any at all after a few years, with most brands preferring you upgrade to a new device instead. Volvo – or rather its electric offshoot Polestar – is adamant, however, that its new Android-based infotainment system will "stay as cutting-edge in the future as it is today".

Volvo's second electric car, the Polestar 2, will be dearer than a top-line Tesla Model 3 when it goes on sale in the US mid-year. The Volvo Polestar 2 is due in North American showrooms in a few months, with the first Australian deliveries expected to follow soon after. "Polestar 2 is still intended for Australia and we are in discussion with our colleagues [from] Polestar as to the exact timing," a Volvo Australia spokesperson told CarAdvice.

The Polestar 2 has been priced for various markets across Europe and North America, kicking off between the $90,000 and $95,000 bracket depending on market. Scheduled to commence production in "early 2020" ahead of first deliveries in June next year, the Polestar 2 will be priced from £49,900 ($90,914) in the UK, and €58,800 ($95,632) in Germany. Guide pricing for North America is currently estimated at US$63,000 ($93,348), though the final figure is still to be confirmed.

"I bet you've all driven Volvos and said they are safe, the interior is beautiful, the design is minimalistic, but I bet none of you have said that's the best car I've ever driven," Polestar chief operating officer Jonathan Goodman told Australian media at Polestar headquarters outside Gothenburg.