Polestar Banned in the U.S.!
On June 25, 2026, Polestar announced that the federal government denied their waiver to sell their cars in the U.S. This means that they are banned from selling cars here after the 2026 model year.
The reason for this is the Connected Vehicle rule, which bans manufacturers that have cars with software that is too closely related to China. Volvo also was affected by this rule, but was granted a waiver in May. I think most people thought that Polestar would also be granted a waiver, considering how similar its cars are to Volvo models. Many Polestar models share the same underpinnings and same software, such as the Polestar 2 and Volvo EX40 or Polestar 3 and Volvo EX90.
Unfortunately a waiver for Polestar didn’t happen. It’s likely that Polestar was not deemed to be significant enough to warrant a waiver and easy pickings for the rule — someone had to be affected by it or it wouldn’t be much of a rule. Polestar was a convenient sacrifice. After all, they have almost certainly sold fewer than 50,000 cars in the U.S. since 2021.
The online Polestar community has been abuzz since this was announced. I’ll share my thoughts shortly, but here is an official email I received from Polestar today:
Dear Paul,
You may have seen recent news regarding Polestar and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s decision not to grant Polestar an authorization under the current Connected Vehicle Rule to sell vehicles in the U.S. from model year 2027 onward in the United States. Current model year Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 vehicles are still available for sale.
We want to reassure you as a current Polestar owner, your ownership experience and the support available to you remain unchanged. And if you’re considering a new Polestar today, you can do so with confidence.
You can continue to expect:
Dedicated U.S.-based customer support
Service and maintenance through our U.S. retail and service network
Warranty and roadside assistance in accordance with your vehicle’s coverage
Ongoing software updates and vehicle improvements
Continued access to genuine parts and technical support
Thank you for being part of the Polestar community. We’re committed to supporting you throughout your ownership experience, and we’re here whenever you need us.
If you have any questions, please contact Polestar Support at +1-800-806-2504 or visit Polestar Support.
Polestar
Obviously Polestar is going to put as positive a spin as they can on this, but the reality is that this is just not good news for us in the U.S. For Polestar, it doesn’t really matter all that much as they already were not selling many vehicles here.
A user on the official Polestar Facebook page asked about this situation and got this reply:
…we understand many existing Polestar owners have questions following today’s announcement.
If you currently own or lease a Polestar in the U.S., nothing changes for you. Your vehicle warranty remains in place, you’ll continue to have access to service and maintenance through our network, and our customer support teams remain available to assist you.
Our focus is on continuing to support our customers and ensuring they receive the same level of care and service they expect from Polestar.
Thank you for being part of the Polestar community.
What Happens Now?
There have been other European manufacturers that dropped out of the U.S. market, for one reason or another, and it is certainly possible that Polestar does come back. After all, they remain somewhat popular and Europe and will continue to sell vehicles in Canada so there will remain a North American presence, at least. The company itself is not going away.
Regardless of the spin from Polestar, this is just not good news at all for those of us in the U.S.
If you were looking to get a new Polestar 3 or 4, you now have a tougher decision to make. Both of those are great cars and will probably have even more incentives put on them, but you’re only going to be able to pick from available inventory since no more vehicles will be sent or built here.
As with any new EV, you’re better off leasing and that leaves you with little overall risk. You might be able to get a new Polestar 3 or 4 at a great price and have no real worries during its lease period. When the lease is done, you give the car back and move on to something else.
If you are currently leasing a vehicle, your situation is basically the same.
Things start to change when it comes to used vehicles, especially the Polestar 2. Will the used prices dramatically drop? Hard to say, but used Polestar 2s were already rather inexpensive and I don’t think they’ll drop to Fisker levels since Polestar is not going bankrupt. Parts and services centers will still be available, at least for a few more years.
If you have a Polestar 2 right now, I don’t think anything really changes for you. The Polestar 2 is largely reliable and needs little service and that hasn’t changed with this announcement.
If you are worried about reliability and servicing, then a Polestar was never really for you, anyway. Even before this announcement, there were few service locations and part availability wasn’t always great.
If you are concerned about your depreciation, then you probably should avoid buying cars at all. All cars depreciate substantially and if you were relying on an EV to not depreciate a lot, then you were just being silly.
Why Did This Happen?
I’ve seen some posts saying this happened because Polestar vehicles are “made in China”. Although this is happening because of a China connection, it is not because they are “made in China”. After all, the Polestar 3 is actually made in the U.S.
This happened because of the Connected Vehicle rule, which prevents vehicles that rely on China-sourced software from being sold in the U.S. This rule is not new, but it is going into effect this year.
Considering Polestar uses the decidedly U.S.-based Google Android Automotive for its infotainment, it is irritating that they are getting affected by this, but I understand there are other software components that are involved.
Is this a good rule? Certainly not when applied this carelessly. I can understand some concern about compromised Chinese software running on vehicles sold in the U.S., but that is something that can be monitored and dealt with directly. Applying this rule in broad strokes like this is dumb and just seems to stifle competition in the U.S., reducing consumer choice.
I think the rule was really intended to prevent the direct import of Chinese vehicles from BYD or Zeekr into the U.S., and Polestar was perhaps collateral damage, an easy mark. It also didn’t help that the giant Chinese company that owns Polestar, Geely, also owns Zeekr. Of course, Geely also owns Volvo…
In general, this rule certainly feels like an attempt to give favor to U.S.-based businesses, particularly Tesla, but I haven’t seen direct evidence of that. It’s just a feeling. This also seems like yet another attempt to prop up the big-three U.S. automakers, who still appear to be ignoring the EV revolution to their own detriment.
It is nearly universal that whenever someone switches to an EV they will refuse to go back to an archaic ICE vehicle. The U.S. government can continue to try to stifle EV progress, but they cannot stop it. Eventually it will result in industry disruption and if legacy auto manufacturers are unable to adapt, they will fade away and be replaced by those that didn’t live in the past.
My Plan
I bought my 2021 Polestar 2 a little over a year ago and I’ve absolutely loved it. I have no regrets about it and I have no intention of getting rid of it anytime soon and I’ll continue writing about Polestar and EVs here at Current Notes. I choose not to let this unfortunate situation affect my Polestar ownership experience and I really don’t expect it to affect things in any meaningful way.
My Polestar 2 has been amazing. I look forward to driving it every chance I get and its styling still brings a smile to my face every time I see it. Right now there is no other vehicle I’d rather own.
In fact, if prices on used Polestar 2 models do drop significantly, perhaps I’ll get a second one as a backup!