Luxury sports model to be sold through online subscription

Visitors examine the newly-unveiled Polestar 1 high-performance coupe in Shanghai. [Photo by Hao Yan/China Daily]

The world's biggest market is embracing the first Chinamade high-performance electric coupe, which offers features with almost all the buzz words－internet subscription, shared on-demand as well as digitally connected services.

It comes from Polestar, the former performance sub-brand of Volvo. Polestar unveiled its first standalone electric performance model, the Polestar 1 on Tuesday in Shanghai. It goes into production in 2019, and will be built exclusively at a new facility in China.

The Polestar 1 is being promoted as "Electric Performance Hybrid."

The car uses a 338bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that powers the front wheels.

It also employs a starter motor generator that injects an extra 39bhp, while a team of electric motors sends 215bhp to the rear axle.

According to the manufacturer, the car will be capable of 0-60mph in less than 4 seconds.

Polestar said it would test the waters with an initial annual production run of 500 vehicles, and the cars will be available through a new subscription service, similar to that being offered by Volvo on the new XC40.

Polestar's high-performance electric model is a two-door, four-seat grand tourer coupe with an Electric Performance Hybrid drivetrain.

All of its future products will be available only through its websites, on a two or three-year subscription basis.

"Polestar takes customers beyond pure driving. We've integrated digital connectivity and mobile apps in the car," said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath.

"All future cars from Polestar will feature an electric drivetrain, delivering on our brand vision of being the new standalone electric performance brand," he added.

Polestar's technology and product offering benefits from synergies and economies of scale enabled by Volvo Car Group. They've helped Polestar to accelerate the design, development and production processes, taking a fraction of the time it takes other new entrants.

A joint venture has been established between Volvo Cars and Geely Holding, capitalized at 5 billion yuan ($770 million) in equity to support Polestar's development.

"At Volvo Cars we believe electrification for car propulsion is the way forward," Hakan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars, wrote in an opinion piece in China Daily.

"We are committed to a future minimizing our carbon footprint, giving consumers the cars they want and contributing to cleaner air in our cities."

In July, Volvo Cars became the first established car company to embrace electrification as core to its future business.

The Zhejiang Geely Holding-controlled automaker announced that from 2019 every new Volvo model launched will be a hybrid or fully electric car.

Ron Zheng, Shanghai-based partner of German firm Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, said the Polestar move was seen as a way to strengthen the brand image of Volvo, and test the newest concepts.

"The company is in need of a powerful sports brand to Volvo's image upwards," he said.

Ron said he believed the 500-unit production run was very small and would be sold quickly.

He said the product would be a trial run for the latest technologies and business models of Volvo Cars. Polestar's CEO said the first batch of 500 cars were being built for customers who embraced new technologies, appreciated the cutting-edge design and were passionate about driving a car offering heightened road performance.