On a late July evening, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stood onstage outside the automaker's Fremont, Calif., factory. Behind him, side-by-side videos were projected on a large screen showing a Tesla Model 3 and a Volvo S60 undergoing side-impact crash tests.
"On one side you have one of the safest cars in the world, a Volvo S60," Musk said, with cheers, then laughter from Tesla employees as the S60 driver-side door caved in while the Model 3 door barely budged. "The Volvo is arguably the second-safest car in the world."
Though just throwaway lines at the Model 3 sedan launch, Musk's remarks highlight a growing competition between the upstart electric vehicle maker and the Swedish luxury brand.
Both are bucking performance and sales trends, with a close eye on China. While Tesla has skyrocketed in value off flashy products, lofty goals and Musk's public persona, Volvo's 90 years of experience coupled with massive Chinese financing could unseat Tesla from its perch as a top tech and luxury EV brand.
"With the financial backing Volvo's got, they have the ability to try new things that they would not have been trying before," said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. "They can position themselves in a way they've never positioned themselves before."
Less than three months after the Model 3 launch, Volvo held a flashy introduction of its own: the Polestar electrified performance vehicle subbrand.
The new product line, part of Volvo's strategy to electrify all new vehicles starting in 2019, is to consist of the Polestar 1, a hybrid performance coupe; Polestar 2, a higher-volume all-electric sedan; and Polestar 3, a battery-electric SUV. While discussing the sedan — due in late 2019 — Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath had Tesla square in his sights.
"We want to go all-in, to where it's happening, to where it's cooking," he said. "We decided to build an electric car that will be joining the competition around the Tesla Model 3, bringing an exciting, appealing midsize battery vehicle to the market."
A spokeswoman for Tesla said the automaker welcomed competition to advance the market for EVs.
"Every compelling EV on the road is a win for Tesla," she said in an emailed statement.
Before heading Polestar, Ingenlath led Volvo's design turnaround after Zhejiang Geely Holding Group bought the automaker from Ford Motor Co. in 2010.
With an $11 billion investment from its new Chinese owner, Volvo rolled out a slew of well-received products packed with advanced driver assist technology.
The makeover drove a sales streak, with 461,313 vehicles sold globally in the first 10 months of 2017, and a target of 800,000 vehicles sold annually by 2020. With Polestar, the automaker is branching out of its traditional customer base to a more niche, performance-minded buyer.
Polestar’s Ingenlath: “We decided to build an electric car that will be joining the competition around the Tesla Model 3.”
"It looks like Volvo and Geely are firing on all cylinders right now," said Dave Sullivan, an analyst at AutoPacific. "The amount of product they're turning out right now and the services they're announcing, is pretty notable for the size of the company."
Tesla made a splash — and angered state dealership associations — when it said it would sell its vehicles direct to customers, bypassing the decades-old dealership franchise model. By interacting directly with customers, the automaker has argued in various lawsuits, it can best educate consumers on EV technology.
Volvo introduced its Care by Volvo sales model in September with the unveiling of the XC40 compact crossover. Care by Volvo allows customers to subscribe to vehicles for two or three years, paying a flat monthly fee that includes maintenance and insurance without a down payment and the option to trade for a new vehicle at the end of the term.
Polestar vehicles will be sold exclusively in this way, using an online-only process. But these services lean on Volvo dealerships for service and management, and Polestar said it will open stand-alone showrooms for customers who want to see vehicles in-person — similar to the galleries Tesla operates in states that ban direct sales.
"They're offering a different take on vehicle ownership, taking away possible excuses as to why someone wouldn't want to buy a vehicle," Sullivan said. "It definitely gets people talking. They're a company looking at doing things a different way."
Though Volvo is exploring new sales avenues, the ability to rely on its legacy dealership network shields it from some of the legal problems Tesla has had in certain states.
"They can have vehicles in all 50 states. They don't have to fight any legislators or dealer groups," KBB's Brauer said.
As regulations tighten, China has become the largest supplier and consumer of EVs, with 707,000 manufactured in the country by Chinese and global automakers in 2016, according to consultancy McKinsey.
Tesla vehicles have been especially popular in China, rising to $1.07 billion in sales in 2016 from $319 million in 2015, according to a company SEC filing. Musk has told investors the company is in talks with local regulators to build a factory in Shanghai. Such a plant could cut shipping costs and vehicle prices, which can be up to 50 percent more expensive in China than in the U.S.
During a call with analysts this month to discuss third-quarter earnings, Musk said Tesla won't spend major capital in China until 2019, with vehicle production beginning in about three years.
"It's really the only way to make the cars affordable in China," he said. "But it's really three years out."
Volvo has three manufacturing operations across China that produce the S90 sedan with plans to build upcoming 60- and 40-series vehicles. The company is also building a production center for Polestar vehicles in Chengdu, China, due to open by mid-2018. The country has become Volvo's largest market, with 90,930 vehicles sold last year.
"It's not just the U.S. Volvo's looking at. It's also China," Sullivan said. "One thing Volvo has going for it is a great distribution network, something Tesla still doesn't have."
With its Polestar subbrand, Volvo is branching out of its traditional customer base to a more niche, performance-minded buyer. The Polestar 1 is among the vehicles announced for the subbrand's lineup.
"Volvo turns up the heat on Tesla" originally appeared in Automotive News
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