Swedish electric performance brand Polestar revealed the next step in diversifying its manufacturing footprint. Manufacturing of Polestar 4 in Hangzhou Bay, China, will be complemented with manufacturing in Busan, South Korea, expected to start during the second half of 2025.
An agreement has been reached between Polestar, Geely Holding and Renault Korea Motors (RKM), that will bring contract manufacturing of Polestar 4 vehicles for the North American and domestic South Korean markets to RKM’s Busan plant.
Located with direct access to exporting ports, the Busan plant has 23 years of experience in vehicle manufacturing and approximately 2,000 employees. The Busan plant aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030, and to become carbon neutral by 2040, through a combination of energy efficiency improvements and the adoption of renewable energy sources.
Polestar’s asset-light approach to development and manufacturing enables it to benefit from the competence, flexibility and scalability of its partners and major shareholders, without needing to invest in its own facilities.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, says: “We’re very happy to take the next step in diversifying our manufacturing footprint together with Geely Holding and Renault Korea Motors, a company that shares our focus on quality and sustainability. With Polestar 3 on-track to start production in Chengdu, China in early 2024 and in South Carolina, USA, in the summer of 2024, we will soon have manufacturing operations in five factories, across three countries, supporting our global growth ambitions.”
Stéphane Deblaise, CEO of Renault Korea Motors, says: “Polestar 4 will be the first full battery electric vehicle produced in the Busan plant, symbolising Renault Korea Motors renewal and our ambitious vision for the future. We are very proud of this new partnership and grateful to the Polestar brand for their trust.
“From a wider perspective, we see further opportunities for Renault Korea Motors in the near future, thanks to our strong shareholders, Renault Group and Geely Group.”
Polestar 4 was first launched at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2023. The SUV coupé is the second SUV in the Polestar line-up and in addition to incorporating design cues first seen on Polestar’s concept cars, it is also the fastest Polestar production car to date. Polestar 4 is positioned between Polestar 2 and Polestar 3 in terms of size and price.
