This article first appeared on:
Swedish auto manufacturer, Volvo, has announced it is now entering the high-performance EV market. The company is transforming its long-time racing and performance division into an EV powerhouse. Polestar will become a “new separately-branded electrified global high-performance car company.” The new vehicles will not bear the Volvo brand and will be introduced as an entirely new stand-alone brand.
Volvo purchased Polestar in 2015, a move that allowed the brand to introduce higher performing vehicles. At the time of the acquisition, Volvo stated that they intended to incorporate their hybrid technology into the vehicles. Now, as the automotive industry rushes to compete with Tesla in the EV market, Volvo has decided to transform Polestar into its own stand-alone brand.
“Polestar will be a credible competitor in the emerging global market for high performance electrified cars. With Polestar, we are able to offer electrified cars to the world’s most demanding, progressive drivers in all market segments.” – Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Cars
Rewinding back to 2014, before buying Polestar, Volvo announced its new Drive-E scalable platform architecture (SPA). The SPA focused its complete product line around a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine, tuning the engine with super and turbochargers to increase power as needed. Since then, the company has nearly redesigned its entire line of vehicles around the SPA. The company has seen global sales surge 25% since 2014, and Volvo has yet to see the effects of a major overhaul to its best seller, the XC60.
Polestar announces new management team to develop electrified performance brand for Volvo cars
The Swedish manufacturer has long been committed to environmentally friendly vehicles and is directly going after Tesla’s market. Earlier this month, Volvo’s CEO cited Tesla as a major reason for developing an electric car, “We have to recognize that Tesla (TSLA.O) has managed to offer such a car for which people are lining up. In this area, there should also be space for us, with high quality and attractive design.”
While it may seem odd that the new performance EV brand won’t be wearing the Volvo badge, the new brand could allow Volvo to mimic Tesla’s business in a larger sense. Volvo’s Polestar brand won’t be tied to Volvo’s network of franchised dealers and could allow the company to pursue direct-to-consumer car sales. Volvo has flirted with the idea in the past, and even allowed buyers of the XC90 order the vehicle online, directly from the manufacturer. While Volvo’s dealers still handled the pricing and delivery of the vehicle, it has allowed the company to test out sales model. Tesla has previously claimed that traditional franchise dealers are the wrong place to sell electric vehicles, citing dealers’ incentives to sell maintenance-heavy gas vehicles.
Polestar’s Logo, Polestar will be transformed into a performance EV brand over the next few years
Leading the new brand is Volvo’s former SVP of Design, Thomas Ingenlath. It’s worth noting that Ingenlath previously worked at VW along with other EV design leaders, Tesla’s Franz Von Holtzhausen and Lucid’s Derek Jenkins. While it is still to be seen what exactly Volvo plans to produce, this new direction for the Polestar brand puts it in direct competition with other EV-only brands such as, Lucid Motors, NIO, Tesla, and Rivian.
Interested in solar? Get a solar cost estimate and find out how much a solar system would cost for your home or business.
Recommended for you
Top Rated Comments (view all)
Discuss: News
Log in with:
Or sign up with TESLARATI:
I don't think so.
Tesla has a 10 year head start and shows no intention of resting on it's laurels.
This new direction for Volvo's Polestar brand puts it in direct competition with other wannabe EV-only brands such as, Lucid Motors, NIO, Rivian and about a dozen companies with various levels of planning and credibility. The competition is to see who will be next to market a serious compelling electric car.
None of them are competition for Tesla, not yet. Let them get a car into production and then we can talk about competition. So far we are not sure any of these will amount to more than hot talk, possibly a prototype and a lot of vaporware.
Volvo already makes cars (very good ones), and knows how to put new models out which appeal to international markets, and Volvo's parent Geely has China's best selling electric vehicle. Volvo has already started building a common platform architecture designed around electrification.
Tesla has a headstart, but soon it will have actual competition. This is a good thing for the world.
Volvo going after Tesla’s market?
I don't think so.
Tesla has a 10 year head start and shows no intention of resting on it's laurels.
(...)
None of them are competition for Tesla, not yet. (...) [/QUOTE]
[QUOTE="GeorgeD, post: 6820, member: 10647"]There's no reason this won't come to fruition as described.
Volvo already makes cars (very good ones), and knows how to put new models out which appeal to international markets, and Volvo's parent Geely has China's best selling electric vehicle. Volvo has already started building a common platform architecture designed around electrification.
Tesla has a headstart, but soon it will have actual competition. This is a good thing for the world.
John, I tend to agree with George... Of course, it still will take a few years and I concur with you T≡SLA has a very strong lead it will hold on to for a long while.
Yet, if anything, particularly with their Chinese base, I do believe Geely, with Volvo/Polestar, may actually be more serious about this than most other ICE carmakers, besides maybe Daimler. They also need it more as differentiator... ;)
Yes, some competition will accelerate BEV penetration, not hurt T≡SLA, and that is good.
There's no reason this won't come to fruition as described..
Now don't get me wrong GeorgeD & Michael, Volvo may very well put out an electric car.
They may even put out a car that is the equal of today's Tesla S.
But
> they have no battery factory, and that will take years to build.
> they have no electric car program. This will take time to develop, and time to engineer a great car. (remember how hard Elon worked to get his company started and producing a compelling car)
> they have no supercharger network.
Meanwhile, Tesla will move forward with better software, higher volume and cheaper cars setting the competition bar that much higher.
Remember, GM came out with the Bolt. It isn't competition for Tesla, but is competition for the Leaf.
Any of the dozen or so companies hoping to be the next great Electric car company may well succeed in building a great electric car and that would be really nice. We just should not think of them as Tesla's competitors until they actually make a car worthy of the label.
Well, if they're Chinese owned and now have models being made there, then. . . .
