SMM: according to reports, two people familiar with the matter revealed that Zhejiang Geely Holdings Group plans to build a new electric car factory to produce high-end electric vehicles of the Polar Star (Polestar) brand.
Geely Holdings plans to build a factory in Chongqing with an annual production capacity of 30,000 high-end electric vehicles, which will be operated by a newly registered wholly-owned subsidiary, according to documents on Geely's website. Geely and Polar declined to comment on the news.
Geely is China's most famous international carmaker, which owns Volvo and Lutes, as well as nearly half of Proton and 9.7% of Daimler. Polar Star is a high-performance electric car brand jointly owned by Geely Holdings and Volvo Automotive Group, which currently has two models, Polestar 1 and Polestar 2. Among them, Polestar 1 hybrid car is produced in Chengdu factory, and Polestar 2 pure electric car is produced in Taizhou factory.
In addition, the Polar Star Precept concept car, which was previously unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show, will also have a small-scale trial production at the Chengdu factory in September 2021 and mass production in April 2022. Polaris also plans to launch larger, more sporty cars.
At present, the exhibition halls of Polaris are located in nine countries, and it is planned to increase the number of exhibition halls from 23 to 45 by the end of the year. Thomas Ingenlath, chief executive of Polestar, said the company was also looking for new markets in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.
Currently, foreign carmakers such as BMW and Tesla are expanding production of electric vehicles in China, the world's largest car market, purchasing major electric vehicle components such as batteries in China, and exporting Chinese-made electric models to other countries.
