The production of Poland’s first domestically-manufactured electric vehicle, Izera, will be located in the southern town of Jaworzno in the industrial and mining region of Upper Silesia, ElectroMobility Poland (EMP) – the state-owned company responsible for the project – said on December 15.

The start of manufacturing will be thus delayed by a year compared to a plan announced in late July. 

Poland had ambitious plans for quickly growing the number of e-vehicles on its roads to one million by 2025, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pledged in 2016. 

While that is unattainable now, domestic production of what EMP claims will be a “reasonably-priced vehicle for an average Pole” could boost the number of e-car users in the late 2020s. 

The production of the vehicle will create approximately 3,000 jobs in the Jaworzno plant as well as some 12,000 in suppliers and related companies, EMP said in a statement on its website. 

The cost of launching production is expected at PLN4bn-5bn, the company said in July.

The Polish e-car, which is named after a mountain range in southern Poland, will be manufactured in SUV and hatchback versions. EMP says that the Jaworzno plant will be capable of releasing 200,000 cars a year. Polish companies will initially supply 30% of the car's components. That is expected to go up to 80% over time.

The company is yet to offer full details on the technical specs of the car. EMP has only said so far that the vehicle’s nominal range is expected at 400 kilometres on a single charge. The car will be able to go from zero to 100 km/h in about eight seconds, EMP also said. 

Izera cars will not be available in a traditional sales model but via a rental system with monthly payments, also covering the cost of electricity. EMP's shareholders are Poland's four state-run utilities: PGE, Tauron, Enea, and Energa.