Polestar Breaks Ground at Plant in China

Volvo Car Corp.’s new Polestar performance unit has broken ground at its planned manufacturing plant in Chengdu, China.

Construction of the plant, which will assemble all future Polestar models, is due to be completed by mid-2018. Production of the inaugural Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid coupe will ramp up in 2019 at a rate of 500 units per year.

The car’s hybrid architecture will team two electric motors and a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine to generate a combined 592 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque. Featuring a carbon fiber body, the lightweight rear-wheel-drive car will have an all-electric range of 93 miles.

The hybrid coupe will be followed by a pair of all-electric vehicles. The Polestar 2 midsize sedan will launch later in 2019, while the Polestar 3 large crossover/SUV will be added later. All Polestar vehicles will be sold online exclusively as two- or three-year subscriptions, which will bundle car payments, financing, insurance and maintenance costs into a single monthly fee.

Polestar’s Chengdu complex is located near an existing Volvo plant. The new facility will include a customer experience center and test track. Polestar claims the complex, which will be designed by Norwegian architect company Snohetta, will be the most “environmentally responsible” car factory in China.

Volvo acquired Polestar Performance in 2015 after collaborating with the engineering firm of the same name over the previous 19 years. The carmaker launched Polestar as a stand-alone brand this summer.