Five questions for Beatrice Simonsson
Polestar Head of Product Management & Specification, Beatrice Simonsson, talks about the feeling of launching a new car, and the internal and external forces that push her and her team to never settle.
What do you do at Polestar? I manage the team responsible for all the product content, specifications, and attributes for our Polestar vehicles. We define, optimize and balance the customer offers and ensure that our cars reach the defined targets throughout the development and production processes. We also work in close collaboration with R&D and the product attributes team.
The product team is also responsible for the complete life cycle of the car to ensure that it stays competitive over time, identifying necessary life cycle updates. We also provide information and documentation of product data for all our vehicles available on .com, car configurators, in Spaces, or from financial partners and lease companies. What is the best part of your job?
There are so many things… but launching a new car is always amazing! To be able to work with the complete line-up of great new products from the start of the development phase right through to the end. And the fact that you never know what will happen in a day, as there are always new topics, ideas, or crises. That's what I love about the job. One day is never the same as the other. This, together with a great team of dedicated, curious, and passionate co-workers, is what makes my job so rewarding.What are the trends that currently shape your area of work?
We always need to focus on finding new technology, and improving functions and features, while still keeping sustainability in mind. And as more and more competitors enter the EV industry at pace, we need to ensure we retain a strong and competitive offer. We also have a curious and involved Polestar community on social media with ideas and wishes that always keep us on our toes!What is your favorite invention? (You can't say electrification).
Over-the-air updates (OTA). It's so fascinating that the car you bought just a few years ago is not the same car today - it's better.
To be able to work with these fantastic products (producing them, introducing them to the world, and then improving them with new features and functions) is really fun and rewarding. We don't settle for less. We push ourselves to do better!Tell us about an aspect of your area of work that you think people don't know very much about.
I don't think people know that my team handles all product changes - and that we trigger all changes! This includes everything from new vehicles, product definitions, to features and functions. From the very early phases of the program to the very end (throughout a car's complete life cycle), we are there in the thick of it.
