Geely Plans To Make 30,000 Polestar EVs Annually At New China Plant: Report

Chinese automaker is setting up a new electric vehicle manufacturing plant in the country to manufacture its premium Polestar line, Reuters reported Monday.

What Happened: The plant has the capacity to produce 30,000 units annually and will be run by a new fully-owned subsidiary, Reuters reported — citing company documents.

Hangzhou-based Geely makes the vehicles currently through its subsidiary Polestar in Chengdu and Taizhou. Polestar plans to expand its range to include more sporty and larger EVs, as per Reuters.

The automaker’s CEO Thomas Ingenlath told Reuters that it is looking at markets in the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The EV maker has showrooms in nine countries, noted Reuters.

Why It Matters: Another Geely factory, which will make sports-utility vehicles under the Lotus brand is coming up in China, according to Reuters. 

Geely owns Volvo Cars, Proton, and 9.7% of Daimler AG DDAIF. Its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary Geely Automobiles Holdings Ltd GELYF is reportedly planning to debut on the Shanghai markets. 

The subsidiary has a joint venture with Tesla Inc TSLA supplier LG Chem Ltd to manufacture EV batteries. 

There is strong demand for EVs including luxury sedans in China as per BYD Auto Co. Ltd, a unit of BYD Company Limited BYDDF, which sold 40,000 “Han” cars within two months of launch this summer.

Last month, Xpeng Inc XPEV said there is robust demand for its P7 luxury sedan as well. Others, including Nio Inc. NIO and Li Auto Inc. LI, also reported robust sales in their latest quarters.

Price Action: Geely Automobile OTC shares closed 0.71% lower at $2.09 on Friday.

Photo by Alexander Migl on Wikimedia