Swedish automaker Volvo Cars and its parent company Geely Holdings will be investing €640m in their new electric vehicle brand Polestar.
The investment will be used to establish a manufacturing facility in Chengdu, China which is being claimed to be the next manufacturing hub for Volvo Cars.
Volvo says that this process can shorten the time required for the commercial launch of Polestar.
Polestar and Volvo Cars will also be sharing synergies in the form of technology, shared procurement costs, joint development and economies of scale.
Polestar will launch its first production car Polestar 1, which will be a 600hp two-door, four seater hybrid coupé. It is claimed that the car’s pure electric range 150km. The vehicle produces a torque of 1000Nm.
This hybrid coupé features a carbon fibre body for reduced weight and improved torsional stiffness by 45%, with lowered centre of gravity. It is fitted with Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension (CESi).
The vehicle uses a double electric rear axle wheel for improved torque vectoring. This is claimed to provide precise acceleration on each wheel, offering maximum road grip and helps in maintaining speed at corners.
Production is expected to begin at the Chengdu plant in mid-2019 and will be followed by its second and smaller vehicle Polestar 2.
Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said: “Polestar 1 is the first car to carry the Polestar on the bonnet. A beautiful GT with amazing technology packed into it - a great start for our new Polestar brand. All future cars from Polestar will feature a fully electric drivetrain, delivering on our brand vision of being the new standalone electric performance brand.”
Volvo says that Polestar 1 is an example of the synergies between itself and its subsidiary Polestar. The second vehicle Polestar 2 will be a fully electric car and the first in the total of the five fully electric Polestar or Volvo-branded vehicles to be launched between 2019 and 2021.
