Volvo Cars has acquired 100% of Polestar, the Swedish high performance car company, including the Polestar brand.

Polestar will now be used as the model name for special high performance Volvos.

Polestar will also in future utilise Volvo’s twin engine electrification technology to develop next generation performance cars.

In recent years the brands signed a cooperation agreement to jointly develop Polestar versions of Volvo cars that combine a comfortable Volvo driving experience with a very high level of power and handling.

“Driving a Volvo Polestar is a special experience. We have decided to bring this experience to more Volvo drivers, placing the full resources of Volvo behind the development of Polestar as the model name for our high performance cars,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars.

In 2015, Volvo expects to sell 750 Polestar versions of the V60 estate and S60 saloon globally. Polestar sales are forecast to increase to between 1,000 and 1,500 cars a year in the medium term under Volvo’s ownership.

Existing Polestar Performance employees will become Volvo employees.

The Polestar racing team will remain under the control of Christian Dahl, the former owner of Polestar, and will be renamed.

“We are extremely satisfied with the way the performance business with Volvo has developed. But we are a racing team first and foremost. This is an opportunity to return our full attention to our core business – to develop and race Volvo cars,” said Dahl.

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