Polestar plans a bold evolution of its design

Evolution, not revolution

On 18 February 2026, Polestar announces the largest model offensive in its history: four new cars in three years, the Polestar 5, a new variant of the Polestar 4, a completely new generation of the Polestar 2 and the compact SUV Polestar 7.¹ In the strategy update film the company publishes alongside, one chapter belongs to design. It opens with a short brand film whose voice-over states the principle: "We put design first in every sense, not as decoration, but as a direction. A tool for reduction, a force for change."² The answer that follows, on how the brand should look in future, is deliberately cautious in tone and bold in intent.

Philipp Römers, Head of Design at Polestar, describes the conclusion his team reached in its first year: "we aim for a bold evolution rather than a revolution for certain reasons."² The reasons are about the brand rather than the cars: "Polestar's still a quite young brand. It's all about brand awareness and consistency here."² He adds the counterweight in the same breath: "But standing still is no option here."²

A new designer, a recognised look

Römers comes from outside the brand. Polestar appoints him on 21 August 2024, succeeding Maximilian Missoni, after six years at Polestar; before that Römers worked at Audi, including as Head of Exterior Design.³ "Polestar is the role model of a design-driven automotive company," he says at his appointment.³

A new design chief at a young brand faces a specific choice. The minimalist, rather technical look Missoni built is what made Polestar recognisable in under a decade. Replacing it would throw away exactly the recognition the company still needs to grow. Römers' formula keeps the assets and changes their expression, and he names the goal: performance should become more visible, "accompanied by our other core values design and sustainability."

Four areas of change

Römers sets out the plan in four fields: exterior, interior, colour and trim, and UI/UX.² On the outside today's cars are "quite robotic and characterful"; the aim is to stay characterful but to become "a little bit more emotional, central, dynamic to express the topic of performance."² The front, "the face of the car", is the centre of the change: the dual blade headlights stay, "but we will integrate them differently into our front end. So you will clearly see that's the next generation. But in the same time it's a Polestar."²

Inside, the clean Scandinavian design language stays, but the cabin becomes more driver-oriented, and Polestar will "bring back some buttons here, in order to have the perfect balance between the digital and physical world."² Materials remain sustainable but become "a bit more expressive and colourful", and the interface gains more personalisation.² InsideEVs reads the update as a move towards more physical buttons and more actual colours.⁴

The Polestar 2 as first carrier

The first car to show the new face is the successor of the Polestar 2, planned for early 2027.¹ Asked whether it is just a facelift, Römers answers: "Oh no. It's an entirely new car".² He calls it "a perfect embodiment of the design philosophy" and a "super modern incarnation of this iconic car", and confirms that "on the front you will see for the first time our new face."²

The choice of model fits the strategy. Michael Lohscheller, CEO of Polestar, calls the Polestar 2 "the foundation of our brand, with over 190,000 cars sold and an enthusiastic community of customers."¹ A new face introduced on the car that made the brand known is read as a continuation, not a break, which is exactly what a bold evolution needs.

From words to a concept

In September 2026 Polestar previews the new language with a teaser of the Formula 2030 concept and announces that it will show the car to investors, retailers and a select group of customers at The Cube, its headquarters in Gothenburg.^5,6 Auto Express notes that the concept keeps the familiar Dual Blade headlights while showing the Thor's Hammer lights on a much larger scale, and quotes Römers on "a bold evolution not revolution of what came before".⁵ Not every new model follows at once: the Polestar 4 SUV, on sale from 2 September 2026, adds a rear window to the windowless coupé and carries over the coupé's design credentials.^7,8

Lohscheller closes the update with the brand formula the design is meant to serve: "Our young Swedish brand, built around design, performance and sustainability, is challenging the status quo."² The phrase from February has become the brand's design brief. It promises change without asking customers to relearn what a Polestar looks like, and it places the first proof of that promise on the car with which the brand began its rise.