Polestar 5 carbon footprint revealed – could this become a new buying standard?

Polestar has published the full carbon footprint of its new Polestar 5, putting a spotlight on something most car makers still keep largely behind the scenes.

The figure – 23.8 tonnes of CO₂ from production through to delivery – gives fleets a clearer view of the emissions tied to building the car, not just running it. That’s a shift from the usual focus on tailpipe emissions and fuel costs.

For context, that sits at the higher end of what we typically see for EVs. A Tesla Model 3, for example, has been estimated at around 10 tonnes of “embedded” carbon from production, with larger SUVs and cars increasing significantly due to bigger batteries.

Conventional cars usually have lower manufacturing emissions, but then continue producing CO₂ every mile they’re driven. Over a lifetime, a typical petrol car can emit around 410g of CO₂ per mile, compared to roughly 110g for an EV when everything is factored in.

That’s one reason many manufacturers avoid publishing full lifecycle data – the headline number on its own can be misleading. Polestar is taking the opposite approach. By putting the data out there, it’s effectively challenging the rest of the market to do the same.

Could this become more than a nice-to-have? As ESG reporting tightens and sustainability targets become more specific, understanding how a vehicle is built – not just how it performs – may start to influence procurement decisions.

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