Upcoming Polestar concept cockpit will be laced with Google's tech touch

Polestar, Volvo Cars' electric performance division, is on a mission to steal a smidge of Tesla's luster. That requires a lot of technology and trickery to up the wow factor, but it sounds like Polestar has all of that and more planned.

The company said on Monday that it has a concept cockpit ready for debut later this month that will show off the future of Polestar interior technologies. All of this will come courtesy of Google. The brand's cars already pack an infotainment system with Google's Android Automotive behind the scenes. But, in the future, Google's popular operating system will do much more.

Android will flex its muscles to create an even more personalized experience for drivers. For example, Polestar spoke of individual driver profiles that may precondition the car to an individual's liking. With a digital key, the technology could recognize personal preferences and even port over last-used apps into the car.

Google Assistant is in for a big upgrade as well. More natural and conversational commands are in the works, and the voice assistant should better understand local accents and even more languages. The days of a set voice command list are coming to a close.

Of course, Polestar didn't give everything away, but the company did touch on some other neat things in the works, such as displays that increase their intensity or brightness when the driver glances at them. And when the car's parked or charging, Google will further integrate entertainment options such as video streaming. Sounds like Netflix and the like are on the way to future Polestars.

We'll see how the company plans to bring all this new tech together when it reveals the cockpit concept on Feb. 25. In the meantime, Polestar is working on getting its second model, the 2021 Polestar 2, off the ground. Polestar 2 production starts early this year with deliveries to follow shortly after, the company says.