Polestar 1 factory in Chengdu is as beautifully designed as the car

Volvo's Polestar electric brand has completed its first production facility, a sprawling complex in Chengdu, China, that will build the Polestar 1. The EV division didn't skimp on the details, hiring Snøhetta for the project, the Norwegian architecture and design firm behind projects for Times Square, the Shanghai Grand Opera House, the Calgary Central Library, the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and a wild reindeer pavilion. Polestar expects to earn the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) organization's Gold status, which means not only having a environmentally friendly design, but working with environmentally responsible suppliers. Based on the images, company CEO Thomas Ingenlath appears justified in saying, "[We] are not only manufacturing a premium hybrid-electric performance car. We have also created an inspirational manufacturing environment, a great place to work and visit."

Beyond the assembly plant, the facility includes an atrium where visitors can get a panoramic view over the factory floor, and elsewhere on the grounds there's a customer experience center with a test track.

The first Polestar 1 deliveries happen later this year, so production should begin imminently. The brand intends to produce 500 of the carbon-fiber-bodied, 600-horsepower coupes per year in Chengdu for three years, each step in the assembly process overseen by auditors with at least 10 years of experience and "some of the strictest monitoring and assessment procedures in the industry." Early next year, the more accessible Polestar 2 will enter production at a different facility in Lugiao, China.