After five years of development that began with the 2020 Precept concept, the Polestar 5 has made its production debut at the IAA Mobility show in Munich. The electric flagship sedan is positioned against the Porsche Taycan and Lucid Air, but Polestar has not said when—or whether—it will come to the United States.

The uncertainty centers on the 5’s production location and the cost of importing it. Polestar builds the sedan in Chongqing, China, while Chinese electric vehicles remain subject to a Biden-era 100-percent US tariff. In Europe, the standard Polestar 5 starts at €119,900 ($140,000 USD), while the more powerful Performance version costs €142,900 ($167,000).

Powertrain and performance

Both versions use the same 112.0-kilowatt-hour gross battery, with 106.0 kWh available on a net basis. The nickel-manganese-cobalt pack supports Polestar’s first 800-volt electrical architecture and charging speeds of up to 350 kilowatts. Polestar claims a 10-to-80-percent charge in 22 minutes.

  • Polestar 5: 748 horsepower, 559 pound-feet of torque, 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds, and a 155-mph top speed.
  • Polestar 5 Performance: 884 horsepower, 749 pound-feet of torque, 0-60 mph in 3.1 seconds, and a 155-mph top speed.

The dual-motor layout pairs an in-house-developed rear motor with a smaller front motor. The standard model uses passive dampers, while the Performance adds MagneRide adaptive dampers. Both versions receive Brembo braking hardware with four-piston fixed calipers and two-piece rotors.

Polestar quotes estimated EPA ranges of 330 miles for the base car and 300 miles for the Performance. Those figures are included in the company’s specifications even though North American availability remains unresolved.

Lightweight platform and cabin

The 5 is Polestar’s first vehicle built on a bespoke platform rather than a shared Geely architecture. Its bonded-aluminum structure and aluminum bodywork were developed primarily in the UK, with engineers from Lotus and McLaren involved in tuning its driving behavior.

Polestar describes the interior as a 4+1 layout, with enough room for four adults to sit comfortably and limited space for a fifth passenger. A 14.5-inch portrait touchscreen runs the Google-based infotainment system.

As with the Polestar 4, the 5 replaces a conventional rear window with a camera-based rearview display. Polestar says the setup helps aerodynamic performance, contributing to a claimed 0.24 drag coefficient.

Will the Polestar 5 come to the US?

Polestar says the 5 is available to order now in select markets, while pricing and availability for North America will be announced later. That leaves the US launch unconfirmed.

The company has already shifted production of the Polestar 3 to South Carolina and the Polestar 4 to South Korea to reduce exposure to tariffs. Whether that strategy makes sense for a lower-volume, high-priced flagship sedan remains unclear, particularly because the 5’s bespoke platform makes production relocation difficult.