Polestar publishes full carbon footprint of Polestar 5, strengthening industry-leading transparency

Polestar continues to push the car industry towards greater climate transparency. Since 2020, the company has published full Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for all its models, with publicly available assessments now covering every vehicle in its line-up, including the four-door GT Polestar 5.  Understanding the emissions embedded in materials and manufacturing is a critical step in being able to work more actively to reduce the climate impact of the manufacturing of cars.

Polestar is the first OEM to publish the full carbon footprint of every vehicle in its line-up, giving customers greater transparency about the climate impact of the cars they drive. The cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of Polestar 5 is 23.8 tCO₂e, covering emissions from raw material extraction through production and delivery to the customer.

Materials are at the root of emission reduction. Aluminium is one of the most carbon-intensive inputs in vehicle manufacturing, so Polestar has fundamentally changed how it is sourced for Polestar 5. 13% of the aluminium used is recycled and 83% comes from smelters powered by renewable electricity, avoiding more than 14 tCO₂e per car compared with conventional aluminium sourcing.

Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability at Polestar, says: ”You cannot reduce what you don’t measure. Making the carbon footprint of a car visible helps focus the industry on where emissions occur, particularly in materials and manufacturing. That transparency is essential if we want to scale the low-carbon materials, renewable energy and circular solutions needed to reduce the climate impact of cars.”

Renewable electricity also plays a key role in production. Facilities producing the Polestar 5 as well as the battery cell modules and other key battery materials, operate on renewable electricity, lowering emissions associated with vehicle manufacturing and parts and battery manufacturing.

Innovative materials in the car’s interior further reduce the environmental impact of Polestar 5. Natural fibre composites developed with Bcomp use flax-based ampliTex™, a bio-based alternative to carbon fibre that uses 50% less fossil-based material and can be up to 40% lighter than conventional plastic composites. Recycled materials are also used, including Econyl carpets made from discarded fishing nets and recycled PET textiles. Circular design extends to the front luggage compartment, which uses a mono-material PET construction combining recycled insulation with a recycled PET surface layer to enable easier recycling at end of life. Customers opting for leather can choose Bridge of Weir Nappa leather, a chrome-free, animal welfare secured natural by-product of the food industry.

The Polestar 5 proves choosing a more sustainable car does not require a compromise on performance as the four-door GT offers up to 650 kW (884 hp) and 1,015 Nm of torque. Range is up to 678 km (WLTP) and thanks to its 800 Volt electrical architecture and 350 kW DC charging capability, charging from 10–80% can be completed in as little as 22 minutes.

Polestar 5 is available to order now via polestar.com.