FREEDOM TO MOVE?

All automotive players are trying to get the best of both worlds – the scalable infrastructure of current combustion engines and the future growth of electric vehicles. Yet, all players have a very different strategy. Volvo, for example, decided to spin off their Polestar brand to kick off and accelerate its journey into electrification (while still benefiting from synergies by sharing Volvo's expertise and manufacturing capacity).

The question is, why spin off Polestar as a separate brand and organisation? Volvo itself was already determined to go fully electric. Also, performance and pricing are not a big differentiator between Volvo and Polestar. The rationale behind establishing a spin-off is found beyond brand, powertrain and market segmentation; it's all about the complexity of internal processes and the ecosystem constraints of a traditional manufacturing industry. As stated in Polestar's mission, 'We have no legacy, no ties to the past; we are free to find the right way.'

The main industry challenge is to transform a company, one which has been so focussed on making the combustion engine work, into a very different direction. Making an electronic vehicle is not simply putting a computer on wheels. It's a much more holistic concept that goes beyond the current state of one technology. It is still, for mankind, an amazing experience that you can actually accelerate and transport yourself faster than your own feet can carry you. And now, with autonomous driving just around the corner, the future of automotive includes a shift from focusing on engineering and scale towards building a real customer experience and business. This requires an entirely new organisational design and culture – and is a good reason to spin off Polestar from Volvo!

As a spin-off, Polestar, now free to operate without any constraint of an internal or external legacy (e.g., partnership commitments or standard channels), can rethink everything about how a car company is organised to become much faster in development and lean decision-making. This requires an entirely new organisational design and culture, one leaning more on Polestar's racing team heritage and working in a very agile and multi-disciplinary way, to constantly boost performance and driver experience.

In short, Polestar is about creating the freedom of a start-up with the benefits of an established player.