Looking for a Tesla Model Y alternative? Polestar has a new premium compact SUV on the way

No one can accuse Polestar of using an illogical naming structure for its cars. The seventh car will be called the 7 and, thanks to a little update from the Swedish EV maker, we now know a bit more about it.

Slated to arrive in 2027, the Polestar 7 will be a “premium compact SUV planned to be produced in Europe,” the company says. It added that the 7 will “[target] the world’s fastest growing and most profitable premium segment.”

Polestar also said this month jow, from the 7 onwards, it will “gradually move from a multi-platform approach to one single architecture,” – a move it says will reduce complexity, costs and investments. All crucial for a startup EV maker that only arrived at the start of the decade and plans to put its fifth car (called the 5, of course) into production later in 2025.

Philippe Römers, the carmaker’s head of design, said: “Polestar is known for its progressive design, with each car standing out and creating its own buzz – so too will Polestar 7. It is incredibly exciting to bring Polestar’s design ethos to a new segment. Polestar 7 will be everything our customers expect from us, both in terms of design and performance.”

The Polestar 7 will arrive seven years after the Polestar 2 landed in 2020, and while the new car isn’t expected to be a direct replacement to the 2, it will likely be positioned as a spiritual successor. Whereas the Polestar 2 doesn’t quite fit into any existing car genre – it’s a blend between a hatchback and a small SUV – the 7 is expected to be more clearly a compact SUV, and sit somewhere between the Volvo EX30 and EX40.

Depending on price and specification, it could well be seen as a close rival to the new Tesla Model Y 'Juniper', Xpeng G6 and potentially even the electric Porsche Macan.

Although Polestar hasn’t said where in Europe it plans to build the 7, Chinese parent company Geely (which also owns Volvo and Lotus) is constructing a factory in Kosice region of eastern Slovakia. It also already has European factories producing Volvos in Sweden and Belgium.

Although details are scarce for now, the 7 is expected to be relatively sporty – as the new Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 both are, to some degree – and major in minimalist Scandinavian design. It is also expected to use a Google-powered Android infotainment system with integrated Google Assistant and Google Maps. A top-notch sound system, like that of the Polestar 3, which boasts Dolby Atmos surround sound, is also likely.