Polestar set to go it alone

Volvo tuner to unleash its own range of performance EVS

VOLVO’S performance brand Polestar will be going it alone with its own range of electric performance cars, Auto Express can exclusively reveal. The first standalone Polestar model will arrive later this year.

According to a senior source inside Geely (Volvo and Polestar’s parent firm), the Chinese company wants to create a line-up of brands to rival the VW Group.

With Volvo cementing its position taking on premium brands, Geely wants Polestar to take a sportier role within its group. It wants to replicate what Mercedes-amg has done in producing its own bespoke AMG cars.

Volvo’s new SPA (Scalable Product Architecture, left) and CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform technology will be used for a new generation of hot Polestars with an electric, Spa-based car likely to break cover first, some time this year. The SPA platform already underpins the Volvo XC60 and XC90 SUVS.

Polestar will continue to design and deliver performance enhancements for existing Volvo cars, while the brand is set to become the global face of Geely’s motorsport efforts – the company currently prepares and runs Volvo Polestar models under the Polestar Cyan Racing brand.

With Polestar focusing on electric cars, that’s bound to start rumours of a Geely Polestar involvement in the Formula E racing series, which Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson has hinted at in the past.

Alongside Volvo and Polestar, Geely’s new brand LYNK & Co will cover the mainstream, while Geely also sells its own brand cars in its home Chinese market. The company also sees further potential for the London Taxi Company, which it bought in 2013, plus Geely is currently in talks with Lotus about taking a majority stake in the British sports car and engineering firm.

“The Polestar brand is set to become the global face of Geely’s motorsport efforts” “Owner Geely wants Polestar to take a sportier role within its group”