Polestar 7 to Be Built in Slovakia, but Can It Find a Soul There?

Polestar, the Swedish electric brand still in search of a clear identity, has now grandly announced that its latest creation, the Polestar 7, will finally have a home in Europe. Not in design-centric Scandinavia, but in Košice, Slovakia, where Volvo Cars began laying the foundations for its factory back in 2023.

The Polestar 7 isn’t set to hit the market until 2028 and will be built on architecture from the Geely group, drawing on Volvo’s technology. It’s a familiar formula—component sharing, next-generation batteries and electric motors, all wrapped in a promise of “Polestar-typical” driving feel. What that actually means is, as usual, conveniently vague in the press release.

On paper, the Slovakian plant checks all the boxes: strong logistics, a solid supplier network and a central EU location. But the real question is whether this extensive platform sharing between Volvo and Geely risks turning Polestar into just another rebadged variant of a familiar chassis. After all, “premium” is more than a shinier badge and a slightly stiffer suspension.

Polestar hopes that producing cars in Europe will give it a fresh boost and a renewed sense of identity. But with a launch slated for 2028—an eternity in automotive terms—there’s a real risk that what’s “new” today might feel hopelessly dated by then. The Polestar 7 might be a breakthrough moment. Or just another ambitious footnote left behind. Time will tell.