- The car manufacturer will start U.S. production of the Polestar 3 shortly.
- Thomas Ingenlath would also like Polestar to build vehicles in Europe.
- U.S. deliveries of the 3 will start this quarter.
Polestar chief executive Thomas Ingenlath has expressed surprise at the Biden administration’s decision to increase tariffs on electric vehicles built in China and hopes that if free trade isn’t possible, then at least fair trade is achievable.
Speaking at the recent launch of the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 in Spain, Ingenlath said “There is a certain erratic-ness that comes with going from one day to the next to 100 percent tariffs.” While the carmaker has strong Chinese roots and is partly owned by Geely, it started to investigate ways to globalize its production three years ago.
Read: Polestar CEO Says Volvo Had Always Planned To End Funding
This year, it will be able to sell the Polestar 3 in the U.S. without worrying about importing it from China, as it will build it at the Volvo factory near Charleston, South Carolina. Additionally, it will make the Polestar 4 at the Renault Korea Motors facility in Busan, South Korea, also allowing it to avoid tariffs when imported into the U.S.
Speaking with Auto News Europe, Ingenlath said the firm’s production plans protect it from U.S. tariffs on Chinese products while also keeping it safe from any retaliatory tariffs the Chinese government may enforce.
“Free trade is not easy anymore,” he said. “This is not a problem unique to Polestar or this industry. I just hope that if no rationale exists for free trade, we can at least have fair trade.”
Polestar would also like to build vehicles in Europe. However, Ingenlath said this won’t happen until the launch of the Polestar 7 at the earliest, which isn’t expected to launch until roughly 2027.
U.S. deliveries of the Polestar 3 should begin this quarter. The entry-level model starts at $73,400 and is equipped with a 111 kWh battery driving a pair of electric motors with 489 hp and 620 lb-ft (840 Nm) of torque. That’s enough to send the SUV to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 5 seconds and travel 315 miles (507 km) on a single charge.
