Volvo tuner Polestar, which the carmaker acquired in 2015 to build its own race-ready Volve cars, is now being set up as its own separate company within the Volvo group, with a new focus on performance electric vehicles. The new Polestar will have its own branding, distinct from Volvo’s – though it’ll still produce performance versions of Volvo cars in addition to its own models, Slashgear reports.
The new Polestar will build its own EVs, as mentioned, but the focus will still be on making these attractive to those in the market for high-performance vehicles. This could put the new Volvo subsidiary in direct competition with Tesla and its Model S, currently the easy first choice for those looking for a vehicle that has both an all-electric drivetrain and the ability to deliver track-topping speed, acceleration and handling.
We’ll find out more about what exactly Polestar has planned for its own vehicles this fall, the company says, which could coincide with a bunch of announcements from Tesla, too, since that’s roughly when it says it’ll reveal its electric semi-truck plans. Musk has been dropping hints that an updated Roadster reveal is in the works, too, and noted that we should expect some surprises at the September truck event, so maybe fall will be a very interesting season for performance EV fans.