Volvo’s performance brand teases an electric concept sedan running an android system

Volvo’s performance sub-brand Polestar has brought the storm to the electric car world. It is bringing a striking electric concept car to this year’s Geneva Motor Show. Instead of knuckling down on flashy performance specs, the company is talking up two different topics: the use of sustainable materials throughout the car, and a deeper integration with Google’s new Android Automotive operating system.

The car is called the Polestar Precept, and the company says that name was chosen to “emphasize the vehicle’s role in setting out Polestar’s intent as the contemporary electric performance brand.”

“A precept is a manifesto of things to come; a declaration,” Polestar writes in its press release. Therefore, CEO Thomas Ingenlath says in a statement, this car “is a declaration, a vision of what Polestar stands for and what makes the brand relevant,” and that it also serves as a “response to the clear challenges our society and industry face.”

“This is not a dream of a distant future, Polestar Precept previews future vehicles and shows how we will apply innovation to minimize our environmental impact,” Ingenlath says.

To that end, Polestar has laid out some of the Precept’s green bona fides. The company says the interior panels and seatbacks are made out of “flax-based composites,” which account for an 80 percent reduction in plastic waste, as well as a 50 percent reduction in weight.

The Precept’s seats have been “3D-knitted from recycled PET [or polyethylene terephthalate] bottles.” The bolsters (the sides of a car seat’s cushioning) and headrests are made from recycled cork vinyl. And the Precept’s carpets are made out of reclaimed fishing nets, according to Polestar.

Polestar is also teasing how it wants to deepen the integration of Google’s Android Automotive OS. The company’s already planning to be the first automaker to ship a vehicle with Google’s embedded operating system — which is like a more expansive, phone-free version of modern Android Auto — with the the Polestar 2 electric car later this year.

But with the Precept, Polestar says it wants to “open up new possibilities in the car, beyond the already available adjustment of mirrors, seats, climate and entertainment settings to the driver’s personal preferences.”