Polestar claims it was blindsided by sales ban

Подробности

The company says that communication from the Trump administration led it to believe it would be approved to continue selling its EVs in the US.

Polestar said the Trump administration strung it along for months before finally rejecting its request to continue selling its electric vehicles in the US under a rule outlawing vehicles with connected software from China .

In an August 18th letter sent to dealers and obtained by The Verge , Polestar said it doesn’t have a clear answer as to why its application to continue selling its EVs in the US was denied, considering its sister company Volvo was authorized to sell its vehicles despite similar corporate ownership. (The letter was first reported by The Wall Street Journal .)

The US Department of Commerce approved Volvo in May 2026 to continue importing and selling its vehicles in the US, despite restrictions tied to its majority Chinese owner, Geely. But one month later, the department rejected Polestar’s similar request, leading to the company to announce it would stop selling its vehicles in the US starting with the 2027 model year . The rule, which originated under the Biden administration, bans the import and sale of vehicles with connected software from hostile countries, including China.

In the letter to dealers, Polestar’s head of product Peter Wexler lays out the timeline of the company’s communications with the Trump administration, starting with a May 29, 2025 application to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) under the Commerce Department. In subsequent meetings, Wexler says Polestar was given the impression that Polestar would be approved, considering its vehicles are functionally similar to Volvo’s.