Volvo Jump-Starts Polestar As Performance Electric Car Brand

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

Volvo’s indelible print on the history of cars has earned it a good place in the eyes of many. Volvo was the carmaker that invented the three-point seatbelt found in every car today. Instead of keeping the IP, it opened it up to everyone — the right thing to do. But Volvo and electric haven’t mixed too much so far … yet.

Volvo Polestar Is EV Performance

Volvo Polestar EV PerformanceSo far, in the world of EV performance, Tesla stands almost alone. Of course, Tesla has plenty of car companies nibbling at its heels. But for the most part, these companies are startups or overwhelmed traditional carmakers. Germany is boisterous about EVs in the future and most likely Porsche can capture hearts as it always has. So will Jaguar Land Rover and a few others. It seems as though Volvo is one of those brands as well.

Volvo is mostly about safety, but over the past few decades has shed its Californian Berkley or upper East Coast look and feel to embrace a more upper-crust society. Volvo’s owner, China’s Geely, has been keen on getting into the lucrative luxury/performance EV market, where margins are easier to attain than with mass production EVs. We’re sure Nissan might disagree with that, but getting Volvo from safety car to performance EVs is a mighty task for any company.

Volvo Polestar EV Performance

Volvo Polestar Racing Comes To The EV Rescue

Those who follow the world of racing are familiar with Polestar, the Volvo sports division that was founded by Jan “Flash” Nilsson as Flash Engineering in 1996, sold to the Christian Dahl team in 2005, renamed to Polestar Racing, and its road car division (Polestar Performance) was sold to Volvo. Meanwhile, Polestar Racing was renamed Cyan Racing, according to Wikipedia.

At the heart of the Volvo bet is the $155,000 Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid (PHEV). Volvo is betting that 600 HP and 100 miles of driving range has a place in this market. Although it won’t be coming until next year, we know a little more about its “Polestar Engineered” approach and can see what’s in store for its upcoming S60 hybrid sports sedan, something I’ve been eager to see executed for a while. Engadget says there will be a V60 estate option and XC60 SUV in 2019.

What should a PHEV sedan look like? According to Volvo, the S60 will offer 400 HP to 415 HP with both the gasoline engine and electric motors powering the vehicle.

Volvo Chases The Electric Performance & Luxury Segment

Volvos are truly great cars, but the gasoline ones are very fuel thirsty. Volvo has been active on the racing scene and the bold and daring switch from gasoline cars raced to EV performance is something we hope all car makers would achieve, at the very least, the switch to electricity.

We look forward to test driving the Volvo Polestar 1 performance PHEV and others to come for you.

Volvo Polestar models Volvo Polestar EV Performance


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

Nicolas Zart

Nicolas was born and raised around classic cars of the 1920s, but it wasn't until he drove an AC Propulsion eBox and a Tesla Roadster that the light went on. Ever since he has produced green mobility content on various CleanTech outlets since 2007 and found his home on CleanTechnica. He grew up in an international environment and his communication passion led to cover electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, renewable energy, test drives, podcasts, shoot pictures, and film for various international outlets in print and online. Nicolas offers an in-depth look at the e-mobility world through interviews and the many contacts he has forged in those industries. His favorite taglines are: "There are more solutions than obstacles." and "Yesterday's Future Now"

Nicolas Zart has 572 posts and counting. See all posts by Nicolas Zart