Volvo Buys Polestar, Prepares To Battle BMW And Mercedes

Volvo S60 Polestar (Credit: Volvo )

Volvo has been working hard to up its game in the past few years. After getting out from under Ford’s thumb, plus gaining a new owner that supplies generous funding and a surprising level of autonomy, the Swedes are ready to turn up the heat on German premium brands such as BMW and Mercedes.

One of the key things that Volvo has been missing is its equivalent of AMG. The automaker has been working with Polestar, creating faster versions of select models, but it hasn’t been enough. Supply of these go-fast Volvos has been pretty low, which is one of the biggest problems. Now that Volvo has purchased 100 percent of Polestar, there hopefully will be more high-performance Volvos headed to the United States and other markets worldwide.

The near-future goal is to approximately double Polestar model sales worldwide, according to a report from Jalopnik. That’s a significant jump, but it’s still a far cry from the kind of volume AMG and M vehicles are pushing today.

In the official announcement about the purchase of Polestar, Volvo mentions that there will be performance models that will use the twin engine electrification setup. The company also mentions that it leads all of Europe when it comes to manufacturing plug-in hybrid cars. These references make it plainly obvious that we will be seeing some high-powered plug-in hybrids from Volvo in the near future, which could be a lot of fun.

It’s already a known fact that a performance version of the new Volvo XC90 is in the works. Volvo owners will also be able to order performance kits made for Drive-E powertrain models, going through a dealership for the whole transaction.

While some have written off Volvo as a has-been automaker, the fact is that developments like this demonstrate that the Swedes have only begun to fight. The brand won’t go the way of Saab, at least not in the near future. The big question that might seem ludicrous to many is if one day a Volvo Polestar will legitimately give the M3 and C63 a run for their money. We will see.