Polestar 3

Make
Polestar
Segment
SUV

It appears as if carmakers have a massive target on their backs when it comes to contributing to climate change. Ever since Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal, almost every brand has been prompted to shift to an all-electric strategy to lower the use of oil and decrease their overall carbon footprint. Switching products to electrification isn't the only solution, as cars have to be completely sustainable right to the end product if a net-zero carbon result is to be achieved. Recycling is a big part of this, and it just isn't as simple as throwing a used water bottle in a marked trash can.

Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath, the same executive who criticized modern carmakers for their arrogant designs, has now come out to speak out against this, claiming that the automotive sector should not bear all the responsibility of recycling cars and components. This comes just one month after the brand called other manufacturers out for not taking climate change seriously enough.

Speaking at the unveiling of the Polestar 3 in Europe, Ingenlath says that the brand is not in the business of recycling but it does what it can to make sure that components can be easily repurposed or disposed of by third parties. He adds that a standardized unit of measurement for carbon emissions needs to be implemented so that other manufacturers who are not pulling their weight in the cause can be monitored and held accountable.

"There has been very little feedback and very little initiative to jointly come to a standard. That's a little bit of frustration from our side. Time is running away, at some point we will be missing a hell of a lot that we did not find the right moment to agree on a standard for how to calculate the CO2 footprint," Ingenlath adds.

Speaking to Drive during a round table discussion at the event was Polestar's sustainability expert, Fredrika Klaren, who confirms that the net-zero carbon emission figure for the entire life cycle of a car is pretty much unattainable at this point. She states, "We don't know how to reach it. It is truly a Moonshot goal. [But] I have hopes that we will achieve it,"

Klaren adds that to achieve this target, other manufacturers need to find the result attractive enough to pursue via incentives. She adds that there is an acknowledgment of how other manufacturers may be approaching the challenge, but without more collaborative efforts from these brands, it's going to be a tough battle to fight.

Klaren says, "Now in this new era we need to do like other industries such as fashion, and collaborate to combat the immense challenge we share. Frankly, we need to get out of that [traditional mindset]. We are inviting others to participate in this project."