Volvo’s Polestar 1 Hybrid Coupe Production Begins; Has 150 Km All-Electric Range

polestar 1 production begins china

Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid GT has an all-electric range of 150 km and the combined power output stands at 600 hp

Volvo’s standalone electric performance sub-brand Polestar shocked the world when it first showcased the 1 back in 2017. With the clock ticking, the 1 has not been on the international roads yet despite the reports regarding boom in reservations. On the back of it, Polestar has now announced that the production of the final prototype vehicles is underway at its manufacturing base in Chengdu, China.

The production of the Polestar 1 hybrid coupe for customers will begin soon after the 50 tooling try out prototypes are sent out of the assembly lines. The try out prototypes are, as you may know, used to eliminate any shortcomings in the manufacturing processes before the real deal hits the streets. It is performed to make sure “manufacturing and assembly processes work as intended”.

The initial set of customers can now specify their final options as they are being configured. The production base in China is currently in the final stages of completion with the official inauguration later this year and thus customer deliveries will begin towards the end of 2019 or in early 2020. Polestar aims to roll out 500 units of the 1 per year and it has a starting price of 155,000 USD.

polestar 1 production begins china 3

It is already sold out for its first year as 200 customers are from North America. The Polestar 1 made its global debut in October 2017 and is based on Volvo’s SPA platform. Amidst sharing platform, the 2+2 coupe GT is claimed to be 50 per cent brand new. The 1 has a combined power output of 600 horsepower and 1000 Nm of peak torque.

The familiar Volvo’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder Drive E petrol engine powers the front wheels while the rear axle is driven by two electric motors sourcing electricity from a 34 kWh battery. The motors alone produce 218 horsepower.

 

With the all-electric range of 150 km, the Polestar 1 is the most frugal hybrid model considering the zero-emission range. For agile performance, it has carbonfibre bodywork with torsional stiffness of 45 per cent and Öhlins Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension (CES) with torque vectoring.