Chinese Plant Builds First 50 Polestar 1 Coupes, But They’re Not For Sale

It has been more than a year and a half since Polestar first presented the Polestar 1, and the hybrid coupe is still not on the streets.

While that’s a pretty long wait, those who are interested in buying one should know that the production of customer cars will begin soon. Polestar has announced that its factory in Chengdu, China, is currently building the final prototype vehicles of the Polestar 1 Electric Performance Hybrid.

Also read: Polestar 2 EV Officially Revealed At 2019 Geneva Motor Show

As soon as the manufacturing of some 50 tooling try-out cars (TT) ends, Polestar will be able to start building pre-production and customer production cars. The TT prototype series is used to fine-tune production methods and for evaluation of tooling implementation. According to Polestar, this is done to ensure “that the manufacturing and assembly processes work as intended before customer car production begins.”

“It’s great to see how we have progressed from showing the Polestar 1 for the first time in 2017 to now having our beautiful new manufacturing facility up and running with the TT cars being tested in and around the plant,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer at Polestar.

The executive added that loyal customers are now able to secure their final specification for their car. Initial Polestar 1 customers have started the process of confirming how their cars will be configured.

The Polestar Production Center in Chengdu is in its final stages of completion and is scheduled to be inaugurated later in 2019. The production of customer cars will begin later this year. Capped at 500 units annually, the production run for the first full year has already sold out, despite a starting price of $155,000 in the United States and €155,000 in Europe. 200 cars have been secured by North American customers.

The Polestar 1 features a plug-in hybrid powertrain consisting of a 2.0-liter internal combustion engine powering the front wheels and a double electric rear axle drive system powering the rear wheels. The motors source electricity from a 34 kWh battery that enables a pure electric driving range of 150 km (93 miles). In total, the plug-in hybrid system delivers 600 PS (592 hp) and 1,000 Nm (738 lb-ft) of torque.