2021 Polestar 2 will be built in the same Chinese plant as Volvo XC40

When Polestar unveiled its Polestar 2 electric hatchback at the Geneva Motor Show, the automaker said it would be built in China, but it didn't specify where in China it would be built. Now, we have that information.

Polestar announced on Friday that it will build the Polestar 2 at a plant in Luqiao, in China's eastern Zhejiang province. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2020, with the vehicle going on sale thereafter as a 2021 model.

The Luqiao plant is owned by Geely, the conglomerate that owns , , Lynk & Co and Polestar. To that end, the Luqiao plant will also be the new home for Chinese-market SUVs , which Volvo announced on Friday as well. Previously, all XC40s were built in Belgium, so this move allows Volvo to manufacture swaths of cars much closer to where they'll be sold, reducing delivery complexity. The Luqiao plant already builds the Lynk & Co 01 SUV. All three vehicles share the same CMA platform.

Of course, vehicles are no good if there's no place to sell them. To that end, Polestar also announced on Friday that it will open its first "Space," Polestar's fancy name for a dealer, in China in the third quarter of 2019. The first Space, announced last October, will open in Norway in mid-2019. In all, Polestar estimates that it will open about 20 different Spaces across 11 Chinese cities during 2020, which will represent about one-third of all global Polestar Spaces.

The Polestar 2 looks to be a promising fighter. Polestar hopes its 78-kWh battery will permit for an EPA-estimated 275 miles of range (it's aiming for about 310 miles by the European WLTP standard). With two electric motors, one on each axle, putting out an estimated 408 horsepower and 487 pound-feet of torque, it should properly scoot. Heck, there's even an optional performance package available with Öhlins dampers and Brembo brakes. We can't wait to drive it.

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