Volvo Cars electrifies Polestar

Geely owned Volvo Cars announced Polestar, its performance car arm, is to become a new, separately branded, electrified global high-performance car company.

Thomas Ingenlath, design chief at Volvo, will become chief executive officer at Polestar. Ingenlath has been the inspiration behind Volvo’s award-winning design renaissance in recent years, the automaker said.

“Thomas heading up the Polestar organisation shows our commitment to establishing a truly differentiated stand-alone brand within the Volvo Car Group,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars.

Ingenlath will be joined at Polestar by Jonathan Goodman, who will become chief operating officer. Goodman moves from his position as head of corporate communication at Volvo Cars.

“With 25 years of commercial experience in the automotive industry, Jonathan is ideally placed to provide operational experience alongside Thomas’s vision, building on the experienced management team that will drive the Polestar brand forwards,” said Samuelsson. “Polestar will be a credible competitor in the emerging global market for high-performance electrified cars. With Polestar, we are able to offer electrified cars to the world’s most demanding, progressive drivers in all market segments.”

Volvo Cars acquired 100% of Polestar Performance in July 2015, having worked together in motorsport since 1996. In the future, Polestar will offer Polestar brand cars that will no longer carry a Volvo logo, as well as optimisation packages for Volvo’s range of cars under the Polestar Engineered brand.

“Polestar will enjoy specific technological and engineering synergies with Volvo Cars and benefit from significant economies of scale as a result of its connection to Volvo. These synergies will allow it to design, develop and build world-beating electrified high-performance cars,” the automaker said.

Ingenlath said: “I am really excited to take up the challenge of establishing this exciting brand, developing a fabulous portfolio of bespoke products and channelling the passion we have throughout the Polestar team. The next chapter in Polestar’s history is just beginning.”

Polestar will make further announcements about its plans in the autumn.