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Volvo Will Invest $118 Million in South Carolina to Produce the Polestar 3

Polestar 3 6 photos
Photo: Polestar
Polestar 3Volvo Ridgeville Plant in South CarolinaCMA PlatformCMA PlatformCMA Platform
Volvo and Volkswagen were appointed by Transport & Environment as the only major automakers ready to make the switch to EVs. Another proof of that is Volvo’s investment in its Ridgeville plant in South Carolina.
Apart from producing the S60 and a future electrified Volvo that the Swedish carmaker is yet to reveal, it will also manufacture the Polestar 3. Not by coincidence, Polestar revealed almost simultaneously the teaser above.

It makes clear that the Polestar 3 will be an aerodynamic vehicle. Polestar complemented that information by stating it will be a performance SUV. Some renderings imagined it as a version of the C40, but that will not be the case.

The Polestar 3 will debut an entirely new electric vehicle architecture. We bet it is a dedicated one, unlike the CMA used by the C40 and its older brother, the XC40. Volvo and Geely must have realized that something built from scratch would present better results and fewer compromises than a platform that would also have to accommodate combustion engines.

The curious part about this move is that Volvo clarified it would make the Polestar 3 “under contract for its affiliate, Polestar Cars.” The effort to make customers see both companies as completely independent entities is remarkable.

To get the Polestar 3 produced in South Carolina, Volvo will invest $118 million in that plant. That’s a relatively low investment considering a new vehicle made with an entirely new architecture. With that amount of money, Volvo will have a cumulative investment of more than $1.2 billion in its American plant.

That means that Volvo’s mysterious vehicle for South Carolina is also based on this dedicated EV platform that will be presented with the Polestar 3. Unfortunately, we still have no idea what that Volvo will be. The production of the Polestar 3 in Ridgeville will begin in 2022. According to Polestar, it will reduce “delivery times as well as the environmental impact” of transportation.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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