The global production of the Polestar 3 will be carried out exclusively in the United States

The Polestar 3 will no longer be produced in parallel on two continents. Volvo and Polestar have decided to concentrate all of its global production at the American plant in Ridgeville, near Charleston, South Carolina. The Swedish brand’s first electric SUV will therefore no longer roll off the assembly line at the Chinese plant in Chengdu, where production began in early 2024.

The first units of the Polestar 3 began leaving the Volvo plant in South Carolina about six months after production started in China, and from now on, all units of this model destined for international markets will be built exclusively there.

Although neither Volvo nor Polestar have publicly detailed the reasons behind this decision, everything points to a strategy aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Maintaining two production lines on different continents is probably not cost-effective. In addition, the high tariffs that electric vehicles produced in China face when exported to Europe and other Western regions have certainly played a significant role in this decision.

The Volvo plant in Charleston is vital to the company

The Ridgeville plant is already the global production hub for the Volvo EX90, the electric flagship of the Swedish brand, which shares the same SPA2 platform as the Polestar 3. That is why, as explained by Volvo itself, consolidating Polestar 3 production in Charleston will improve efficiency and reinforce the strategic importance of this plant.

Volvo also plans to begin production in South Carolina of the XC60 mid-size SUV, available in plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid versions. In addition, a new next-generation hybrid model will be introduced at this same plant before 2030. This new strategy by Volvo suggests that the Swedish company does not fully trust that fully electric vehicles will dominate the American market in the coming years, and that is why it will keep combustion-engine electrified models in its lineup to ensure profitability.

Volvo has invested 1.3 billion dollars in its South Carolina plant over the past decade. Currently, the facility has an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles. Together with the production plants in Europe and China, these facilities play a key role in the brand’s growth plans and in its strategy of adapting production to regional needs.