Momentum in the development of the Polestar 1 has increased with the production of the first series of road-going verification prototype (VP) cars in Sweden. Produced for a number of purposes including crash tests, weather testing and on-road assessment, the VP cars form the very first fleet of Polestar 1 cars on the road.
Construction of the cars, which takes place in a specialised prototype production facility in Gothenburg, is largely done by hand. It acts as the first testing phase for production of Polestar 1 customer cars which will be built at the new Polestar Production Centre in Chengdu, China. The carbon fibre-body of the Polestar 1 required the development of new specialised production equipment and construction techniques that will be transferred to the factory and used to build the production cars.
"The assembly of the VP cars means that the Polestar 1 has taken its next step towards production," says Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar. "This first batch of 34 cars will enable our engineers to tune the finer details of the car, ensuring that the Polestar 1 is perfect when we start to produce customer cars in the middle of next year."
Production of the Polestar 1 marks the first time that a brand in the Volvo Car Group has explored carbon fibre construction. The VP cars have allowed engineers to design, test and execute complicated construction processes with positive results.
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For images and other media information, visit media.polestar.com.
Contact Details Duncan Forrester, Public Relations and Communications
Matt Vella, Media Relations
Brent Ellis, Public Relations and Communications, Europe
Sunnie Zhang, Public Relations and Communications, China
John Paolo Canton, Public Relations and Communications, North America
About Polestar
Polestar is the new electric performance brand from the Volvo Car Group. 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 Cars. These synergies enable the design, development and production of separately-branded, high performance electrified cars.
Polestar begins this new era with the Polestar 1 – a low-volume Electric Performance Hybrid GT with 600 hp, 1,000 Nm and an electric-only range of 150 km, the longest of any hybrid car in the world. In the future, the Polestar 2 and Polestar 3 will join the portfolio as full battery-electric, higher volume, driver-focused vehicles.
Polestar also applies its technology and expertise to electrified Volvo cars. The new Volvo S60 T8 Polestar Engineered features key Polestar components to create a sharper and more engaging driving experience. Polestar optimisation software upgrades are also available for Volvo models, which enhance six performance areas including engine output. Polestar Engineered media information can be found at media.volvocars.com.
