Swedish electric carmaker, Polestar, is expanding its global engineering capability with the expansion of a world-class R&D hub in the UK. Despite the challenging industry landscape over the last year, the now 250-strong UK team has more than doubled in size and will continue to expand beyond 500 people in the future.
Polestar’s new facilities will be situated at the MIRA Technology Park. This is a world-class automotive testing and development site in the heart of ‘motorsport valley’ in the UK’s Midlands. It’s Ideally placed to take advantage of Great Britain’s world-renowned automotive engineering talent pool located in and around the area.
The MIRA Technology Park provides access to a variety of specialised on-site equipment, including advanced battery testing, an extensive test track network and a selection of other independent operations. This makes it the perfect choice for the progressive Swedish brand.
Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, said: “Going electric is a pivotal moment in the history of cars. The combination of British engineering talent and Swedish expertise will ensure our cars are among the highest performing and most sustainable on the road.”
Working alongside the R&D team in Sweden allows the UK team to focus on ground-breaking engineering solutions in a bid to help Polestar reach its goals.
The UK R&D team will play a crucial role in the brand’s continued evolution, immediately focusing on the development of the Polestar Precept. This was first revealed in 2020 and set to go into production before 2025.
Pete Allen, head of Polestar UK R&D, said: “Precept is a statement of intent for the brand in terms of design, technology and sustainability. The production car will take an important step on the journey towards climate neutrality, and ours will be the team that delivers that.”
The expansion of Polestar’s R&D capabilities follows on from the growth of its model line-up, plans to increase its global sales footprint by the end of 2022, and the move to manufacture Polestar 3 in the USA as well as China.
With several new cars in development, Polestar is poised for continued high-paced growth in both sales and revenue. It’s good to see another electric carmaker and evolving so rapidly, and creating jobs once again.
