If you're interested in the first three of the Polestar VINs (where the WMI goes), they haven't said what it is yet
Race team turned electrified automaker Polestar has just opened its first manufacturing plant. Along with its own VIN identifier, which is a big part of making the company an automaker in its own right.
Polestar began as Volvo’s racing team, getting that name back in 2005 when they built V60 touring cars. In 2010, Polestar introduced the Volvo C30 Polestar Concept, the company’s first road car. In 2015, the Polestar Performance and Polestar brands were brought in-house and purchased by Volvo, while building Polestar engineered performance roadgoing Volvos. In 2017, Volvo announced that Polestar would be making its own high-performance EVs, and that it was now an independent automaker. The company’s first standalone model, the Polestar 1 was revealed that year.
Now, Polestar has its own factory. Located in Chengdu, China. It’s going to start production with the Polestar 1. The not that creatively named performance hybrid that boasts 600 hp, 738 lb-ft of torque, and a carbon fibre body.
“Here in Chengdu we are not only manufacturing a premium hybrid-electric performance car. We have also created an inspirational manufacturing environment, a great place to work and visit. It truly reflects the Polestar brand.” said CEO Thomas Ingenlath. “We promised we would have our first production facility built in 2019, we promised cars would be delivered to customers this year, and we promised we would do things differently once again we are delivering on our promises. This is a hugely proud moment for the whole team at Polestar.”
The automaker is planning on building 500 Polestar 1 vehicles per year, and 1,500 over the three years of production. The company is already taking orders for the cars. Starting early next year, the company will begin building the Polestar 2, a full EV, at a different facility in Luqiao, China.
Having a separate World Manufacturer Identifier is a big deal for Polestar, not just because it sets it as a separate carmaker from corporate parent Volvo and Geely. It also means that the company’s cars would qualify for certain EV incentives, like the sliding incentive in the US that lowers as certain sales levels are hit, separately from the vehicles of the parent company. If you’re interested in the first three of the Polestar VINs (where the WMI goes), they haven’t said what it is yet. But they’ll probably start with L, the country code for China.
Keyword: Polestar Unveils New Factory, Gets its Own Number