Polestar published its 2025 Sustainability Report on April 28, 2026, revealing that the company has reduced greenhouse gas emissions per sold car by 31 percent compared to its 2020 baseline. The figure spans a five-year period during which Polestar simultaneously grew annual retail sales to more than 60,000 vehicles, expanded into 28 markets across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, launched three new models, and established manufacturing operations in factories on two continents. The company characterizes the result as a decoupling of business growth from negative climate impact.
The report attributes the emissions improvement to several overlapping factors. Increasing the share of renewable energy used in battery production and broader manufacturing operations played a central role. Polestar also increased its use of low-carbon materials throughout vehicle production and expanded renewable electricity sourcing across key European markets, which lowers emissions during the use phase of a vehicle’s life when cars are charged from cleaner grids. The growing sales volume of the Polestar 4, which Polestar describes as the lowest-carbon-footprint car in its lineup to date, also contributed meaningfully to the per-car reduction.
Europe represents more than 75 percent of Polestar’s global sales and remains the company’s dominant market. The continent’s ongoing expansion of renewable electricity capacity gives Polestar’s vehicles a structural advantage in lifecycle emissions calculations, since charging emissions align with the grid’s carbon intensity. That dynamic means Polestar’s reported emissions per car will continue to reflect the energy mix of the markets where its vehicles are actually driven, not just where they are manufactured.
CEO Michael Lohscheller addressed the business case for continuing to pursue emissions reductions even as other automakers pull back from electrification commitments. “If you are not reducing emissions while growing, you are choosing not to,” he said. “Electrification delivers clear value for customers: lower running costs, lower emissions, and greater peace of mind, as volatile oil prices and fuel scarcity mean pump anxiety is increasingly replacing range anxiety. As clean electricity scales, electric vehicles are becoming not just the sustainable choice, but the smarter, more reliable one.”
Polestar has articulated two forward-looking climate targets in the report. The company aims to halve greenhouse gas emissions per vehicle sold by 2030 relative to current levels, and to achieve climate neutrality across its entire value chain by 2040. Polestar says it remains on track, staying below its internal emissions reduction curve as it progresses toward those goals.
One of the more consequential developments disclosed in the 2025 Sustainability Report concerns Polestar’s Polestar 0 project, an effort to produce a net-zero car without using carbon offsets. The original target date for that achievement was 2030. The company now says the timeline has been revised to 2035, reflecting the complexity of eliminating emissions from areas such as raw material extraction and steel production, where low-carbon alternatives are still maturing. Polestar frames the delay not as a retreat but as a recalibration toward a target it considers achievable without relying on offset mechanisms that critics have questioned as insufficient to address underlying emissions.
To advance the underlying research required for the Polestar 0 project, the company formally established Mission 0 House in 2025. The initiative is a research consortium headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, and it has secured close to SEK 100 million in funding over five years. The consortium brings together five Swedish universities — University of Borås, University West, Jönköping University, Karlstad University, and Mid Sweden University — alongside six industry partners: Borgstena, Polestar, Sekab, SSAB, TMG Automotive, and Together Tech. Additional financial support comes from the Knowledge Foundation, Vinnova, and Västra Götalandsregionen.
Mission 0 House is conducting research across several technical areas directly linked to vehicle production emissions. One workstream focuses on large-scale piloting of ultra-low-emission steel, a critical material in vehicle manufacturing that has historically been difficult to decarbonize. Another addresses battery materials, seeking alternatives or improved processing routes that reduce emissions associated with battery production. A third area involves bio-based textile alternatives for vehicle interiors, and a fourth explores technologies that convert CO₂ into new materials, potentially creating a productive use for captured carbon in the production process.
Head of Sustainability Fredrika Klarén commented on the broader significance of the Polestar 0 project in the context of industry trends. “The Polestar 0 project pushes us into new territory,” she said. “While much of the industry invests in hybrids and combustion engines, we focus on solutions that eliminate emissions entirely. The innovation emerging from this project shows the power of collaboration and material science, and importantly, how well positioned we are to move the industry forward.”
Polestar’s current product lineup spans four vehicles: the Polestar 2 sedan, the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 SUVs, and the recently launched Polestar 5 performance sedan. Polestar plans to expand its lineup to include the Polestar 7 compact SUV, with introduction targeted for 2028. That model is also notable for being planned to roll off a European production line, adding a third continent to Polestar’s manufacturing footprint. The company has already been active in consolidating its North American manufacturing, having moved Polestar 3 production to its South Carolina facility.
On the materials side, Polestar has been working for some time to address the significant carbon contributions of raw materials like aluminum and steel before they ever reach the final assembly stage. The company has been sourcing aluminum produced with hydroelectric power for the Polestar 5, a direct effort to lower manufacturing-phase emissions rather than waiting for grids to decarbonize on their own timeline.
Beyond climate, the 2025 Sustainability Report covers Polestar’s approach across four strategic areas: climate, transparency, circularity, and inclusion. The transparency pillar reflects the company’s long-standing practice of publishing detailed lifecycle assessments for its vehicles, a level of disclosure that remains uncommon in the broader automotive industry. Circularity addresses how Polestar designs vehicles and manages materials at the end of life. The inclusion dimension covers workforce and supply chain practices.
The 2025 Sustainability Report, which covers the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, is available in full on the company’s website.
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