Production of the Polestar 3 has begun in Chengdu, China, with additional production expected to begin in the US in mid-2024, Polestar said.

(A Polestar 3 on display at the August 2023 Chengdu auto show. Image credit: CnEVPost)

Polestar (NASDAQ: PSNY), the premium electric vehicle (EV) maker owned by Geely and Volvo Cars, has started production in China of the Polestar 3, an SUV unveiled on October 12, 2022 .

Production of the Polestar 3 has begun in Chengdu, China, with additional production slated to start in the US in South Carolina in the middle of 2024, the EV maker said in a statement today.

The first early production test series at the US plant has been successfully completed, Polestar said.

"This stunning car takes a significant step forward with start of production marking an important milestone on our journey from a one- to three-car company this year," Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said.

(Polestar 3 production in Chengdu, China. Image credit: Polestar)

"We have also achieved launch readiness at the factory in Ridgeville, South Carolina, and are well on track with our plans to start manufacturing Polestar 3 in the USA," Ingenlath added.

The Polestar 3 will be the first Polestar model to be produced on two continents, supporting the company's growth ambitions in North America, Europe and Asia, the EV maker said.

Polestar was founded in 2017 by Volvo and Geely, and the first product, the Polestar 1, was only available in limited quantities and has now been discontinued.

(Polestar 3 production in Chengdu, China. Image credit: Polestar)

The Polestar 2, which began deliveries in mid-2020, is considered the brand's first true mass-produced model on sale, and isbuilt at a plant in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, in eastern China.

The Polestar 3 made its global debut on October 12, 2022, when a starting price of RMB 880,000 ($122,250) was announced for the Chinese market.

The model is 4,900 millimeters long, 2,120 millimeters wide, 1,627 millimeters high and has a wheelbase of 2,985 millimeters. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in as little as 4.7 seconds.

(Polestar 3 production in Chengdu, China. Image credit: Polestar)

Polestar said at the time that it was aiming for capacity creep by mid-2023 and expected to kick off first deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023. Apparently, that goal was not met.

On March 17, 2023, Polestar officially launched the Polestar 3 in China and unveiled what it called a new pricing system that brought prices down significantly.

The Polestar 3 starts at RMB 698,000 for the long-range dual-motor version and RMB 798,000 for the dual-motor high-performance version in China in the new pricing system.

(Polestar 3 early production test series in Ridgeville, South Carolina, US. Image credit: Polestar)

Compared to the prices at the time of its global debut in October 2022, the official Chinese prices for the two versions of the Polestar 3 have been lowered by RMB 182,000 and RMB 232,000, respectively.

At the Shanghai auto show in April 2023, Polestar launched another SUV, the Polestar 4, in China. The model currently starts at RMB 299,900 and deliveries began last month.

($1 = RMB 7.1986)

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