Volvo Cars relaunches Polestar as standalone electric car brand

[June 21, 2017]  STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Geely-owned automaker Volvo Cars will make its Polestar Performance business a standalone brand within the group, focusing on electric cars, the company said on Wednesday.

A Volvo logo is seen at a car dealership in Vienna, Austria, May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader

Polestar, bought by Volvo in 2015, will produce own-brand vehicles while continuing to deliver high-performance upgrades to the Volvo range.

The new offering will be mainly electric vehicles, aimed at competing with Tesla and the Mercedes AMG division on battery supercars, Volvo said.

"Polestar will be a credible competitor in the emerging global market for high-performance electrified cars," it said.

Major markets are likely to include China and the United States.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; Editing by David Goodman)

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