Volvo bought Swedish race-car maker Polestar and will use the name for an expanded high-performance line to challenge the likes of Mercedes-AMG and BMW’s M models.
Polestar sales are set to as much as double to 1,500 cars in the medium term from 750 targeted for this year, Volvo said. The company already sells tuned versions of Volvo’s V60 wagon and S60 sedan under a cooperation deal signed in 2013.
“We have decided to bring this experience to more Volvo drivers, placing the full resources of Volvo behind the development of Polestar,” Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement.
Volvo is following Jaguar Land Rover as well as BMW and Mercedes-Benz in offering sportier versions of its regular models. Five years after being bought by Chinese automaker Geely, Volvo is overhauling its product lineup and aiming to boost its global annual sales from a target of 500,000 cars this year to 800,000 vehicles by the end of the decade.
Volvo didn’t disclose financial details of the deal. The purchase doesn’t include Polestar’s racing unit, which also collaborates with Volvo and will remain controlled by owner and CEO Christian Dahl, himself a former race-car driver.
The biggest markets for the company’s sporty versions of Volvo cars are the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.
