Polestar Now An Electric Sports Car Company!
Originally published on Gas2.
Polestar has been making a name for itself on race tracks around the world by providing some of the closest and most exciting race finishes in recent history. Now, the Volvo-owned tuning firm is going to be competing with the real big boys in the automotive business — by becoming a manufacturer in its own right.
That’s right — Polestar will soon be a car brand all its own, and it plans to disrupt the sports car market the same way Tesla disrupted the big luxury sedan market: with electric power.
Behold! The New Polestar Brand Logo!
Polestar could be getting some help from English brand Lotus — another recent Volvo/Geely purchase — which will likely lend the brand even more sporty car street cred. We’ll let you know if we hear of more details.
You can read more about this electrifying coming-of-age story (See what I did there?) in Volvo’s official press release, below, then let us know how you feel about Polestar’s odds against an electrified Porsche or Ferrari in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!
Polestar Announces New Management Team to Develop Electrified Performance Brand for Volvo Cars
Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has announced that Polestar, its performance car arm, is to become a new separately-branded and electrified global high performance car company, marking the latest stage in Volvo’s ongoing transformation.
In order to drive the development of the brand, Volvo Cars also announced today that Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President Design at Volvo, will assume the position of Chief Executive Officer at Polestar. Mr. Ingenlath has been the inspiration behind Volvo’s award winning design renaissance in recent years.
“Thomas heading up the Polestar organisation shows our commitment to establishing a truly differentiated stand-alone brand within the Volvo Car Group,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars.
Mr. Ingenlath will be joined at Polestar by Jonathan Goodman, who will become Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Goodman moves from his position as Senior Vice President Corporate Communication at Volvo Cars.
“With 25 years of commercial experience in the automotive industry, Jonathan is ideally placed to provide operational experience alongside Thomas’s vision, building on the experienced management team that will drive the brand forwards,” said Mr. Samuelsson. “(We) will be a credible competitor in the emerging global market for high performance electrified cars. With (this new company), we are able to offer electrified cars to the world’s most demanding, progressive drivers in all market segments.”
Volvo Cars acquired 100 per cent of Polestar Performance in July 2015, having worked together in motorsport since 1996. In the future, (the company) will offer branded cars that will no longer carry a Volvo logo, as well as optimization packages for Volvo’s range of cars under the new brand.
Volvo S60 Polestar Concept Car
Polestar will enjoy specific technological and engineering synergies with Volvo Cars and benefit from significant economies of scale as a result of its connection to Volvo. These synergies will allow it to design, develop and build world beating electrified high performance cars.
Mr. Ingenlath said, “I am really excited to take up the challenge of establishing this exciting brand, developing a fabulous portfolio of bespoke products and channeling the passion we have throughout the team. The next chapter in Polestar’s history is just beginning.”
Polestar will make further announcements about its products, industrialization and commercial plans in the autumn.
Source | Images: Volvo Cars.
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