Much like how AMG got swallowed by Mercedes-Benz, Volvo has announced it has acquired 100 percent of Polestar, the Swedish high performance car company. The deal included the Polestar brand, which will now be used as the model name for high-performance Volvo models.
No financial details of the deal have been disclosed, but the automaker said existing Polestar Performance employees will become Volvo employees. Volvo and Polestar have been working in motor sport since 1996 and in recent years expanded their collaboration by jointly developing Polestar versions of Volvo models.
“Driving a Volvo Polestar is a special experience. We have decided to bring this experience to more Volvo drivers, placing the full resources of Volvo behind the development of Polestar as the model name for our high performance cars,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars.
While this year Volvo expects to sell 750 Polestar versions of the V60 wagon and S60 sedan worldwide, the automaker forecasts Polestar sales will increase to between 1,000 and 1,500 cars a year in the medium term under its ownership.
In the future, Volvo said Polestar will also use the automaker’s twin engine electrification technology to develop next generation performance cars, while Volvo will benefit from the sale of aftermarket Polestar performance optimization kits for existing Volvos.
The deal does not include the Polestar racing team, which will remain under the control of former Polestar owner Christian Dahl and will be renamed. However, the Polestar brand will continue to work alongside Christian Dahl.
“We are extremely satisfied with the way the performance business with Volvo has developed. But we are a racing team first and foremost. This is an opportunity to return our full attention to our core business – to develop and race Volvo cars,” said Christian Dahl.
PHOTO GALLERY
