(Asian Tech Press) Polestar, the premium EV brand built by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. and Volvo Cars, is actively exploring an IPO with a $10 billion valuation to address the increasingly competitive electric car market.

Market sources said that if Polestar goes public, its valuation could exceed $10 billion. Currently, Geely's market capitalization is HK$225.9 billion, equivalent to US$29.1 billion, or one-third of Geely after the potential IPO.

In March this year, it was reported that Polestar was considering an offering in the US or Hong Kong, or a listing through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

However, the CEO of Polestar had said that he would not reject the SPAC IPO, but there was no clear timing of the IPO plan for now.

Polestar is a premium electric car brand jointly launched by Volvo Cars and Geely, with each party holding a 50% stake. Founded in October 2017, the company is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, with R&D in Sweden and the UK and manufacturing in China, while its products are available globally.

Currently, Polestar has two electric vehicle models: Polestar 1 and Polestar 2.

Thanks to the Volvo brand and its advocacy of understated, minimalist design, Polestar 2 is very popular in the European market and has outsold its rival Tesla Model 3 in many places in Europe.

On the contrary, in the Chinese market, Polestar only sold a few hundred units throughout the year, indicating that the Polestar EV does not satisfy the appetite of Chinese consumers.

As a result of the news, Geely shares rose more than 4% in early trading, and was up 3.61% by noon when the market closed for a lunch break.