New Battery and Motor Enhance 2026 Polestar 3
Key Points:
- The Polestar 3 has been upgraded to an 800-volt electrical architecture for faster charging and greater efficiency for the 2026 model year.
- More powerful rear electric motor
- A quicker core processor will also be available as a free upgrade for existing Polestar 3s.
With sales volumes surpassing only those of exotic marques like Ferrari and Lamborghini, Polestar’s footprint in the U.S. could hardly be more minuscule. Shoppers who are aware of the brand might know it’s a subsidiary of Volvo, but that ownership is apparent in the improvements to the 2026 Polestar 3. Like the 2026 Volvo EX90, Polestar’s electric SUV is getting an upgraded 800-volt electrical architecture and a new rear motor, as well as a new central processor that is more than eight times faster than the one the EV launched with just two model years ago.
Related: 2025 Polestar 3 Review: Understated Electrified Luxury
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Central to the overhauled electrical architecture is a new battery pack. Whereas all 2025 Polestar 3s had a 111-kilowatt-hour unit, the size of the 2026 model’s pack depends on the drivetrain. The single-motor rear-wheel-drive 3 gets a 92-kWh battery, while the dual-motor all-wheel-drive and Performance variants now have a 106-kWh pack.
Polestar says the new battery is up to 6% more efficient, but the entry-level Rear Motor version’s pack is 17% smaller than the 2025 model’s. The company hasn’t yet released official EPA range estimates for the 2026 models, but the Rear Motor’s figure will likely decrease from the current vehicle’s EPA-rated 350 miles. The Dual Motor should remain close to its 315-mile 2025 range, while the Performance variant’s range should increase from the 2025’s 279 miles.
However, the upgrade to 800 volts also means an increase in maximum charging speed from the 2025 model’s 250 kilowatts to 350 kW for the 2026 3. (The Rear Motor version is capped at 310 kW.) That means the electric SUV can now charge from 10% battery capacity to 80% in as little as 22 minutes, eight minutes faster than before.
Along with the fresh battery pack, the 2026 Polestar 3 also boasts a new rear motor, developed in-house by Polestar. With 333 horsepower and 354 pounds-feet of torque, it generates 34 more hp than the 2025 model’s motor and cleaves more than a second off the Rear Motor 3’s 0-60 mph time, which Polestar claims stands at 6.3 seconds. The Dual Motor’s output shuffles from 489 hp and 620 pounds-feet to 544 hp and 576 pounds-feet, good for a claimed 0.3-second improvement, to 4.5 seconds. The Performance variant gains a tremendous 163 hp, with a total of 680, while torque slips from 671 pounds-feet to 642. Polestar says the Performance needs just 3.8 seconds to hit 60 mph from a standstill, 0.7 second quicker than 2025. On all versions, tweaked anti-roll bars and steering software are said to make for a more engaging driving experience.
Read More About the Polestar 3:
- How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2025 Polestar 3?
- 2025 Polestar 3 Adds Rear-Drive, Single-Motor Base Variant
- Which EVs Have All-Wheel Drive?
- Electric Cars With the Longest Range
- Research the Polestar 3
Faster Computing for Improved Safety
Like Volvo did with the 2026 EX90, Polestar is pairing the 3’s electrical architecture enhancement with an upgraded core computing system. The new Nvidia processor has more than eight times the power of the piece it replaces, which Polestar says “enables faster, more intelligent management of active-safety systems, battery performance and sensor data.” Existing Polestar 3 owners will be able to have the new hardware retrofitted to their vehicles starting early in 2026.
Release Date and Pricing
The upgraded 2026 Polestar 3 will launch first in the UK, where higher demand means the current model is sold out. It will likely go on sale in the U.S. early in ‘26. Pricing will be announced closer to launch.
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