Tesla could be getting some serious competition from Volvo and its first fully electric vehicle, The Polestar 2. Elon Musks premium electric car company may have been an early disruptor in the EV industry but now, as WIRED reports, the traditional car manufacturers are getting savvier about how they produce and market their battery-powered cars. One of the companies who seems particularly invested in expanding their electric fleet is Volvo.
According to WIRED, Volvo is hoping that The Polestar 2 will provide direct competition to the Tesla Model 3. The Polestar goes into production in 2019 and is expected to be a “mid-sized model. They also plan to release a Polestar 3 electric SUV as well.
As CNET notes, on the surface , it may seem presumptuous on Volvo’s part to expect to compete with a Tesla model that’s already in production and has a waiting list. But, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Tesla Motors is going through major logistical issues with the Model 3 manufacture.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, one of Tesla’s suppliers recently admitted that the company had slashed parts orders for the Model 3 by 40 percent. They had previously ordered 5,000 sets per week, but now that’s down to 3,000 sets. The company’s official justification for the reduction is that the Model 3’s manufacture is experiencing a “production bottleneck.” To compound matters, Elon Musk recently posted a photo and video of him camping on the roof of Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada. On Twitter, he explained that he was doing it so he wouldn’t have to waste time going back and forth from the factory to a hotel.
“Production hell. 8th circle,” he wrote.
It was only a matter of time before Volvo confronted Tesla https://t.co/kVKfzkAD9v
— WIRED (@WIRED) October 23, 2017
So Volvo may be on to something by setting their target squarely on the Tesla Model 3. Although there still aren’t that many details available yet about Volvo’s pure EV, if it wants to compete the Model 3 we can probably expect a sporty electric car at a mass market price. According to Green Car Reports , Volvo will manufacture 500 units of the Polestar 1, the hybrid and the first car in the series. They’ll be selling it via a subscription model. There’s no word yet on how many Polestar 2’s will be manufactured.
Can the Volvo-based Polestar 1 really dominate the GT segment? Here’s what we know so far about the 592bhp hybrid. https://t.co/C8dYODfjop pic.twitter.com/uIYwl11KxU
— evo magazine (@evomagazine) October 21, 2017
Do you think that Tesla should be worried about Volvo’s Polestar 2 gobbling up its share of the EV market? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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