Polestar May Build More 600-HP Coupes Than They Said

Polestar, Volvo's electric-only offshoot brand, is considering building more than the 500 Polestar 1 electric supercars per year than originally planned, reports Automotive News.

"We are looking at whether we could do a higher volume than 500 units a year," Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath told Automotive News Europe. Polestar currently plans to build the Polestar 1 on just one shift at its new factory in Chengdu, China. "I think there is potential to go to two shifts," Ingenlath said.

The Polestar 1 will be a hybrid car, with twin electric motors in back and a twincharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder gas engine up front. Together they enable the Polestar 1 to generate 600-horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque. Uniquely, the Polestar 1 will also be capable of traveling 150 kilometers (93 miles) on electric power alone—no doubt a precursor to Polestar's future all-electric models.

The body of the Polestar 1 will be made of carbon fiber, adding both rigidity and lightness to the car. But this also presents the biggest challenge as far as upscaling production numbers is concerned.

"We have a great deal of respect for the challenge we face as we bring our carbon fiber production into reality," Ingenlath said. "It will be a rather slow start, but it is needed for this complicated product."

It will be a while before Polestar makes a final decision on building more cars. The factory in Chengdu, China where the Polestar 1 will be made is still under construction, and won't be finished until later this year. Cars aren't expected to start rolling off the production line until the middle of 2019. Only then would Polestar be able to increase production, if it decides to.