Former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir has shared on Facebook that he was presented with a Polestar 2. This is an all-electric vehicle which shares a lot of similarities with the Volvo XC40 EV and the incoming C40.
Polestar is a Swedish brand which has no official presence in Malaysia but the brand is owned by Volvo. Interestingly, the car was delivered to Tun Mahathir by DRB-Hicom, the majority shareholder of Proton. According to the 97-year-old former PM, he said the vehicle was developed by Geely, a partner of Proton. He added that he hopes that Proton will develop a similar project and the company will be able to produce its own electric vehicle.
The Polestar 2 is offered in two variants for global markets. The standard range model gets a single motor pushing 170kW (228hp) and 330Nm of torque, and it has a driving range of 478km (WLTP) on a single charge. Meanwhile, the long-range dual-motor version produces 300kW (402hp) and 660Nm of torque, similar to the Volvo XC40 EV in Malaysia, and it has a maximum driving range of 487km on a single charge. The twin-motor model can do 0-100km/h in just 4.7 seconds.
In terms of design, the exterior looks like a Volvo C40 with a lower boot while the interior looks like a typical XC40/C40 interior with a couple of extra differences. In case you didn’t know, the Polestar 2 is also the first car to come with Google’s Android Automotive OS.
On his Facebook post, Tun Mahathir said he was told that the car can drive up to 400km on a single charge and it takes less than 2 hours to get a 100% charge. Even if it is plugged in at home, it will take about 7 hours to fully charge. He said charging an EV is no longer a big issue as there are now over 1,000 EV charging stations throughout the country.
Tun Mahathir said most countries have provided incentives for EV buyers and he finds that these types of vehicles will become the popular choice for lower emissions. He added although EVs do not pollute the air, it isn’t totally pollution free as the electricity generated by power stations could still cause pollution. He said perhaps we might use hydrogen-powered vehicles in the future but there are other challenges that need to be tested and overcome. For now, EVs are the main choice for a cleaner climate in cities.
The former two-time prime minister seems to like the design of the EV. He said because there’s no need to accommodate an internal combustion engine, the car provides additional storage in front to store additional items. He added that the car’s cabin is very clean and futuristic and there are no extra switches or knobs like the ones you find in normal vehicles.
Proton has recently signed a distributor agreement to sell Smart #1 EVs in Malaysia starting in Q4 2023. It was recently confirmed that Proton is also looking at launching and manufacturing its own electric vehicles by 2027 and they have started discussions with potential partners.
[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]
