Digital innovations

Polestar lives on the frontier. Existing as we do to be the guiding star of the industry, we try to spend our days on the very edge of the future. You can’t lead if you’re following someone else.

It’s this forging ahead that finds us in unexpected and unfamiliar territory. And when you’re the first ones there, you can dictate how things work. From design to functionality and everything in between, if it doesn’t exist, we make it.

And thus, the calculator came to be.

Built by a mixed team of web developers and UX designers from Yrgo Polytechnic over the summer of 2019, the calculator was the answer to a question not yet asked (but certainly bubbling in some people’s minds): how easy would it be for me to own an EV?

The calculator prompts the user to enter data explaining their driving habits: distance, frequency of trips, regularly visited locations, and so on. This is where the calculator takes a different tack from most other range and charging calculators.

It displays the benefits.

Fuel savings, tax rebates, and emissions reductions are represented graphically. Expanding circles, growing bar graphs, and scrolling numbers tell a tale to alleviate both the conscience and the wallet. Namely, that having a Polestar 2 is to the benefit of all, not just the user.

“It talks about the benefits, it talks about the environmental impact, it talks about savings, it delivers multiple messages,” says UX designer Anders Nothzén. “It’s a ‘hearts and minds’ approach.” It’s also an honest and user-oriented way of presenting the information. “It’s personalised based on the user’s own data, it’s online at multiple touchpoints, and it’s not incentivized,” states UX designer Mauro Cilli.

A calculator like this didn’t previously exist. So a talented group of UX designers and developers, sitting in the Cube, made it.

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