Polestar Makes Hans Pehrson Head Of R&D And Electric Propulsion

Polestar was originally the performance arm of Volvo and made some very cool blue cars that were fast. Polestar was later spun off into its own company with the aim of taking on Tesla in the EV performance market with a car called the Polestar 1. Polestar has now announced some executive changes.

The company has names Hans Pehrson as head of research and development and electric propulsion strategy. Pehrson has been in the automotive industry for 30-years and was the Technical Director for the Volvo C30 Electric car. That was the very first EV for Volvo.

Polestar says that Pehrson will be a member of the Polestar Management Team. "I am very excited to join Polestar, a company in the forefront of technology and developing the electric cars that will be the future of the automotive industry, and where my passion lies. This important field is changing rapidly and I am really looking forward to being part of that development, and continuing to push the boundaries of new technology within electric vehicles," said Pehrson.

Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar, continued, "Hans Pehrson has been a driving force in electric vehicle technology and development within Volvo Cars since the first consideration of electric powertrains. To have Hans running Polestar's R+D team, and guiding the company's Electric Propulsion strategy, is a great step forward in our future as the Electric Performance brand."

Pehrson will play a key role in the development of the Polestar 1. That vehicle is a 600hp Electric Hybrid aiming for a 99-mile driving range on electric power alone. That would give it the longest electric driving range of any hybrid car. We learned in December that the Polestar 1 would launch first in the US, China, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands in 2019.

SOURCE: Polestar