Volvo’s Unveils Concept Electric Sedan

About a year ago, Polestar — the electric vehicle brand founded by Swedish automaker Volvo — unveiled a compact car touted as a potential challenger to Tesla’s Model 3 in the still-young industry of mass-market electric vehicles.The Polestar 2 debuted at the 2019 Geneva auto show with plans for the car to become available this year.That’s still the plan, but the brand is also headed back to Geneva next month with a look at where it thinks it’s headed next.Polestar this week introduced a concept sedan it’s calling the Precept, which officials characterized as a “manifesto” for sustainable, high-performance automaking.The vehicle features an advanced human-machine interface based on the Android operating system — made by Polestar collaborator Google — along with interior sensors capable of, among other things, tracking the driver’s gaze.On the exterior, cameras and sensors replace the front grille, while camera-based technologies replace conventional mirrors, and a glass roof with a mounted LIDAR pod anticipates evolving driver assistance systems.Polestar also touted a variety of sustainable technologies, including wing designs to improve its aerodynamics and range, and interior features comprised of more eco-friendly materials: panels made from flax-based composites, seats from recycled bottles, headrests from recycled cork vinyl, and carpets from reclaimed fishing nets.The Precept is only a sign of Polestar’s ambition at this point, but the brand itself could be in for some upheaval of its own as Volvo and Geely — its Chinese owner — consider combining their operations into a single entity.