Yahoo Finance Polestar establishes new research and development centre in the UK
Luxury car brand Polestar, which is sub-owned by Volvo, has established a new R&D centre in UK, where it will create future electric performance cars.
The new facility, which is situated in the Warwickshire village of Ansty, will “allow Polestar to increase its own R&D capabilities, and further strengthens the brand’s ability to engineer its future electric vehicles,” the company said.
It is located near to parent company Geely’s design studio and the headquarters of the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), which Geely also owns.
READ MORE: Volvo Cars courts investors to raise cash for Polestar
Polestar said it will initially employ about 60 engineers who have already been involved in preliminary development work for the company, before expanding the team at the facility later in the year.
Hans Pehrson, responsible for research and development at Polestar, said: “Polestar’s role as a technology spearhead requires new and developing skills in low-volume, light-weight, multi-material performance car engineering, and the new UK operation will allow us to take the next steps towards our future cars.
“The team that will kickstart the new UK R&D subsidiary is already well-versed in Polestar engineering philosophy, and we will expand the initial team further during the course of 2019.
“These engineers will be a great complement to our existing R&D team based in Sweden, and other supporting teams around the world.”
It is not yet known what models will be worked on at the new facility. The Polestar 2 – a competitor to Telsa’s Model 3 – was unveiled earlier this year, while the brand’s first ever hybrid, the Polestar 1, is still being manufactured in China.
“Investing in the automotive engineering talent that the UK has to offer will strengthen our capabilities,” said Thomas Ingenlath, chief executive officer at Polestar. “The passion and dedication of these great engineers fit the Polestar spirit perfectly and will allow us to create some really awesome cars!”
