This photo, provided by Polestar Korea on Dec. 21, 2021, shows the Precept concept, its new luxury electric vehicle to be produced as the Polestar 5 in South Korea by 2024.
SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Swedish premium electric vehicle (EV) brand Polestar announced its official launch in South Korea on Tuesday, eyeing for a firm market foothold with a plan to release four EVs over the next three years.
South Korea is one of the five countries in the Asia-Pacific besides China that Polestar, a spinoff of Volvo, has tapped into as part of its aggressive market expansion into the region, with the other four being Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.
“Entering new markets is one of Polestar’s primary activities, and we’re delighted to welcome South Korea, an important market, into our family,” Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar’s CEO, said in a media release.
“We’ll do our best to make Polestar a brand that is trusted and loved by Korean customers.”
In January, Polestar said it will start with the rollout of the Polestar 2, its first full electric model. Preorders will begin Jan. 18.
It plans to release its flagship SUV Polestar 3 next year as well, followed by the SUV coupe Polestar 4 in 2023.
Polestar said it aims to sell 30,000 units in South Korea by 2026.
The company also introduced its latest Precept concept that will be produced as the grand tourer Polestar 5.
The model, which will be released in South Korea in 2024, touts a design that moves away from the Volvo identity and features an interior with environmentally friendly components like seats made with recycled plastics.
Polestar Korea will only sell the vehicles online. Instead, it will spend 50 billion won (US$41.9 million) to open about 10 showrooms and other promotional stations across the country by 2024 to offer customer service and test-drives, it said.
At the press conference, Polestar said that all of its vehicles that will be sold next year will have batteries made by South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd., and is in talks with other battery makers, including SK On Co., for the upcoming models to diversify the device.
Polestar started out as a racing company that developed performance software for Volvo, which later acquired the company in 2015 as a premium sub-brand dedicated to high-performance EVs.
Polestar spun out from Volvo and is now jointly owned by Volvo’s Chinese parent company, Geely.
The EV maker opened its sales office in South Korea early this year to prepare for the official market launch.
Polestar said it plans to expand its global market foothold to as many as 30 countries over the next two years, with a plan to increase its production in the United States.
(Yonhap)
