---
title: "It’s Electric: Volvo Spins Off Polestar Into Performance EV Brand"
description: "The Swedes have a new plan for \"world beating\" high-performance electric cars."
date: "2017-06-22"
modified: "2017-06-22"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/tech/11758/its-electric-volvo-spins-off-polestar-into-performance-ev-brand"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "Electric Vehicles"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Volvo News"
tags:
  - "Electric Cars"
  - "Electric Vehicle"
  - "EV News"
  - "Geely"
  - "Polestar"
---

# It’s Electric: Volvo Spins Off Polestar Into Performance EV Brand

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/06/209694_polestar_announces_new_management_team_to_develop_electrified_performance.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

No longer content to watch Tesla have all the fun, [Volvo Cars has announced](<https://www.media.volvocars.com/us/en-us/media/pressreleases/209692/polestar-announces-new-management-team-to-develop-electrified-performance-brand-for-volvo-cars>) they're officially spinning off high-performance tuning division Polestar into a standalone brand with a mandate to make fast-as-hell electric cars.

This confirms [the rumor we highlighted](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/11460/polestar-goes-electric-wants-to-be-volvos-answer-to-amg>) earlier this month, and now we've got our first glimpse of the newly-minted Polestar logo that will adorn these upcoming performance EV models. It's a nifty cross shape that either looks like two boomerangs colliding or some sort of origami bird if you squint hard enough.

For those of you fearing the demise of Volvo sedans and wagons wearing that [iconic Rebel Blue paint job,](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/3345/meet-volvos-2017-polestar-v60-and-s60>) fear not—Polestar is still owned by Volvo (which, in turn, is owned by Geely), so even though it's being reorganized into a separate brand and developing its own models, it will still be pumping out high-performance trims of the company's cars like always. Phew.

Leading the charge at the new Polestar will be Volvo Senior Vice President of Design Thomas Ingenlath, who also spearheaded the company's sublime new design language now seen on the XC70, XC90, and S90. Hopefully that means some fresh looks in a market that's seen Tesla get away with basically the same sheet metal on the Model S for the last five years.

Of course, even the most attractive electric car is still just a beautiful brick if it doesn't have the performance or utility to back it up. It's one thing to promise a "world-beating," Tesla-slaying powerhouse, but Volvo has yet to make any pure electric car, though they currently sell several plug-in models and plan to drop a [250-mile EV in 2019.](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/8303/volvos-announces-their-electric-vehicle-will-cost-less-than-40000>) Even though Polestar will be able to source parts and engineering from Volvo in building their new models, whether or not that haul includes a better battery remains to be seen.

Still, it's all part of the plan. Volvo [previously promised](<https://www.volvocars.com/en-jo/about/our-company/sustainability/our-company-impacts>) to put one million electric vehicles on the road and become carbon neutral as a company by 2025, and it looks like Polestar is going to have a starring role in that effort.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)