Polestar 1 production begins as Volvo's Polestar becomes officially a 'Brand'

Polestar 1 production begins

Production of the Polestar 1 plug-in Hybrid begins in China as Polestar gets its World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI) to declare it an OEM.

It’s almost two years since the Polestar 1 was revealed, delivering a stunning-looking car – basically a Volvo S90 Coupe – with a plug-in hybrid powertrain good for 600bhp and with a 93-mile EV range. Which will make it the only plug-in eligible for a grant in the UK.

Now, the Polestar 1 has finally gone in to production at a new facility in China, just as Polestar gets its World Manufacturer Identifier (WMI), the last piece of the puzzle needed to declare it an OEM and not a part of Volvo’s manufacture.

But although the start of production for the Polestar 1 is significant, it’s actually not defining what Polestar will be doing going forward.

With just 1,500 planned over the next three years, the Polestar 1 is a flagship model meant to give the new company a halo model to hang the future around, and that future will be the Polestar 2 and Polestar 3.

The Polestar 2 has already been revealed as a car aimed straight at the Tesla Model 3 – and bringing to life Volvo’s earlier 40.2 Concept – complete with a 78kWh battery pack, 400bhp, range of over 300 miles and a sub-5 second 0-62mph.

Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar boss, said:

Here in Chengdu we are not only manufacturing a premium hybrid-electric performance car. We have also created an inspirational manufacturing environment, a great place to work and visit. It truly reflects the Polestar brand.
We promised we would have our first production facility built in 2019, we promised cars would be delivered to customers this year, and we promised we would do things differently – once again we are delivering on our promises. This is a hugely proud moment for the whole team at Polestar

Production of the Polestar 2 is planned to start next year, and it will be followed by the Polestar 3, a Coupe SUV with the same powertrain as the Polestar 2.

And that’s when Polestar will go from elite to mainstream.