It was only a matter of time before more performance brands turned to electrification.
Modifier of all things Volvo, Polestar, is about to embark on a new mission of electrification, says Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson. The brand will shift its focus from high performance gas-powered cars to high performance electric and hybrid cars.
“We bought Polestar, and we now see Polestar as focused on ‘progressive premiumness’ and electrification,” Samuelsson told recently.
Samuelsson went on to clarify that “progressive premiumness” means thinking about what performance cars will look like five years down the road, and that means electrification.
SEE ALSO: 2017 Volvo V60 Polestar Review
Volvo already has electric ambitions beyond the plug-in hybrids it now produces. The car maker wants to release an all-electric vehicle with a 310-mile range by 2019 and sell one-million electric or plug-in hybrid cars by 2025. It would be Polestar’s job to spearhead that technology to let it then filter its way down the range.
To establish its electric performance bona fides, Polestar is considering an entry in Formula E, the open wheel, all-electric racing series.
Polestar however, will not be spun off into a standalone brand like Mercedes-Benz’s AMG.
