Polestar 4s to be manufactured at Renault Korea's Busan plant

Industry

Published: 10 Nov. 2023, 16:25

Polestar 4s to be manufactured at Renault Korea's Busan plant

Renault Korea Motors' Busan plant [RENAULT KOREA MOTORS]

Polestar 4s will be manufactured at Renault Korea Motors’ Busan plant starting in 2025 — the first fully electric car from an overseas brand to be made in Korea.

Renault Korea Motors said Friday it has reached an agreement with Polestar and Geely Holding and that the production of the EV will start in the second half of 2025. A portion of the produced Polestar 4s will be sold in the Korean market, while the remainder will be exported to North America.

The announcement comes after Renault Korea Motors in June had said it would make a big investment in Busan to build an EV facility with a capacity of 200,000 units, planning to use the plant as its export hub. The exact investment size has not been declared, though local reports predict it will be around 1 trillion won ($760 million).

A Polestar 4 is being manufactured at a plant in Hangzhou Bay, China. [RENAULT KOREA MOTORS]

Renault Korea Motors is scheduled to release a new hybrid model in 2024.

The Busan plant, built in 1997, produces internal combustion engine models like XM3, QM6 and SM6. Its annual capacity stands at 300,000 units and employs around 2,000 workers.

“Polestar 4 will be the first fully electric SUV produced in the Busan plant, symbolizing the Renault Korea Motors renewal and our ambitious vision for the future," Stephane Deblaise, CEO of Renault Korea Motors, said.

Geely Automobile Holdings acquired 34.02 percent of Renault Korea Motors last year, becoming the second-largest shareholder of the automaker. Polestar is an EV-dedicated brand under Volvo Cars, which is also a subsidiary of Geely.

Polestar's strengthened partnership with Korea comes as a counter to the Inflation Reduction Act, which offers up to $7,500 in tax credit but restricts automakers from assembling cars or using batteries or components from China.

Polestar 4, first unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show in April, is currently only produced at its plant in Hangzhou Bay, China.

Polestar also recently signed an EV battery supply agreement with SK On to use its high-performance nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) batteries for Polestar’s four-door coupe Polestar 5, starting in 2025.

Polestar currently only sells Polestar 2s in Korea. Polestar 2 was the third most popular EV in Korea last year, right after Tesla Model Y and 3.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]