3 March 2021

The all-new Polestar 2 has achieved a top five-star rating in the first Euro NCAP safety assessments of the year.

Established in 2017, Polestar is an independent Swedish electric car brand. The good news is that the first model from the new performance car brand to be tested against Euro NCAP protocols has safety firmly embedded in its DNA.

Scoring highly across all categories, with 92 per cent in Adult Occupant Protection and a stand-out 80 per cent in the Vulnerable Road User assessments, the Polestar 2 is a vehicle that is “fit for the future”, according to Matthew Avery, Thatcham Research director of research and Euro NCAP board member:

“It’s great to see a vehicle from an emerging brand like Polestar perform so well in our safety assessments. Polestar should be applauded loudly for keeping safety high on the agenda, despite everything the pandemic has thrown at the automotive industry over the past year.”

Contributing to the Polestar 2’s strong Vulnerable Road User score was the inclusion of a pop-up bonnet which deploys should the car impact a pedestrian. Avery comments:

“Typically we don’t see pop-up bonnets on electric vehicles, as there is no hard engine structure to worry about. However, there are still a number of structures within the bonnet that could cause fatal injuries to a pedestrian.”

The Polestar 2 is also designed to accommodate Over the Air Updates, which can wirelessly improve the performance of a number of functions, including it’s safety technologies.

“The Polestar 2 is a good choice for safety, today and in the future. Not only is it a great performer from a passive safety perspective but it will also become safer through its lifetime, thanks to Over the Air Updates. Put simply, the Polestar 2 can be improved while it sits on your driveway.”

Michiel van Ratingen, “We are now a year on from when Covid became a global pandemic and the car industry has had a torrid twelve months. Sales are down and carmakers are having to find ways to cut costs and maximise profits. Euro NCAP is here to ensure that safety is not compromised, and it is rewarding that these two brands should place it high on their agendas. By now, safety is central to manufacturers’ strategies and they know that it is an area where consumers will not accept a drop in standards.”