Volvo Cars and Polestar have signed a memorandum of understanding* for the development and production of Polestar’s forthcoming premium compact SUV at Volvo Cars’ new manufacturing plant in Kosice, Slovakia.
The Polestar 7, a premium, fully electric compact SUV, is planned for launch in 2028. Subject to final agreements between the companies, it is scheduled to be the second car built at the Kosice plant.
It is intended to follow a yet-to-be-announced next-generation Volvo model that will be built there before the introduction of the Polestar 7.
The Polestar 7 will offer the design and performance characteristics that are synonymous with the brand, while sharing a common technology base with two forthcoming Volvo models, including the Volvo EX60.
It will benefit from group component sharing, mega casting, cell-to-body technology with next-generation battery density and performance, as well as the next generation of Volvo Cars’ in-house developed e-motors. This approach to technology sharing creates economies of scale, driving efficiency and cost benefits.
It also illustrates the benefit of Volvo Cars’ approach to development, as exemplified by its Superset tech stack. Sharing a software base, core system and cloud infrastructure with the Volvo EX90, Volvo ES90, Volvo EX60, and the Polestar 3, the Polestar 7 will benefit from continuous improvements and feature growth designed for the full line-up via over-the-air updates.
The Kosice plant, currently under construction, will be Volvo Cars’ third manufacturing plant in Europe. The Kosice facility is designed to be climate-neutral and produce only electric cars, underpinning Volvo Cars’ ambition to become a fully electric car manufacturer and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
By picking Slovakia as the location for its third plant, Volvo Cars will soon have a European triangle of manufacturing covering its largest sales region, complementing the Ghent plant (Belgium) in western Europe and the Torslanda plant (Sweden) in northern Europe.
The new Kosice plant represents an investment of around EUR 1.2 billion. It will benefit from a well-established automotive supply chain as it becomes the fifth car plant in Slovakia. It can produce up to 250,000 cars per year and will provide several thousand new jobs in the region.