This is part of Polestar China’s efforts to build its own charging service system, with the company building its own charging network and accessing more third-party chargers.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Polestar will plug into Tesla‘s (NASDAQ: TSLA) charging network in China, becoming the latest carmaker after SAIC-GM to make such an announcement.
Polestar China CEO Shen Ziyu announced the plan at an event this evening, saying the company has entered into a partnership with Tesla to become one of the first partners to share Tesla’s Supercharger network in China.
It’s part of Polestar China’s efforts to build its own charging service system, which will see the company build its own charging network and will access more third-party charging stations.
By the first quarter of next year, Polestar will have built 60 of its own charging stations in China and will have access to a cumulative total of more than 550,000 third-party charging piles, Shen said.
Originally a brand acquired by Volvo Cars, Polestar has become independent with joint funding from Geely and Volvo, focusing on high-end electric vehicles and headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.
In June 2022, Polestar went public on the NASDAQ through a merger with a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company).
Currently, all of Polestar’s models are built in China. Yesterday, the company announced that the first production Polestar 4 rolled off the assembly line at one of Geely’s plants in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and that first deliveries are expected to begin by the end of 2023.
In June, Polestar announced that it would integrate the North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector design into its electric vehicles starting in 2025.
Polestar is the latest automaker to tap into Tesla’s charging network in China.
SAIC Motor, a joint venture with General Motors, announced on November 10 that it will begin connecting to Tesla’s charging network in China by the end of this year, making it the first car brand to do so in the country.
To date, Tesla’s charging stations in the Chinese mainland that are open to non-Tesla vehicles include 10 superchargers and more than 200 destination charging stations, according to a statement from SAIC-GM.
Tesla’s charging network was previously exclusive to Tesla owners, and on April 24, the company announced it was opening up its supercharging network to other brands of EVs on a pilot basis in the Chinese mainland, following its move in more than 10 other markets.
