How Google’s new HD maps will help the Polestar 3 drive autonomously

The upcoming Polestar 3 will be the first car to feature a new, more detailed mapping system from Google.

An electric SUV and Polestar’s largest car to date, the 3 is due to arrive later in 2023, priced from £79,900. Like other models of Polestar, the car will use Google’s Android Automotive infotainment system, which includes native support for Google Maps and the Google Assistant.

What will separate the 3’s system from that of the Polestar 2 is the inclusion of Google’s new HD maps. An upgrade over the regular navigation imagery, HD maps provide “highly detailed and up-to-date road information,” Polestar says.

The carmaker adds that, with the new system, it will “be able to combine its vehicle sensor technology and Google’s precise lane-level and localisation data to facilitate driver assistance features like Pilot Assist, as well as future autonomous driving functionality.”

Polestar also says how the extra detail of Google’s HD maps will be critical for assisted driving computation, with an improved ability to recognise details like lane markings and objects like road signs. This should make for improved autonomous driving for the Polestar 3, which will be offered with an optional, lidar-based driver assistance system called Pilot Pack.

The Swedish car company also announced this week that an update to the Polestar 2 will bring more integration with devices running Google Assistant. This will let drivers check the car’s battery charge and control functions like cabin climate and preconditioning, and unlock the doors.

Once enabled, this will let Polestar 2 owners say: "Hey Google, warm up my car" to their Nest smart speaker, and the Google Assistant will turn on the car and heat the cabin. This update will be available initially to Polestar 2 owners in the US, before rolling out to other markets later.