Words: Andrew Sluys
Published 26 June 2026
Polestar has been ordered to stop selling vehicles in the United States of America, following a ruling by the Federal Government.
The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security reportedly issued the ban on the basis of security concerns.
The Chinese-owned brand was denied authorisation to sell cars in the country from 2027 under the Connected Vehicle Rule.
It’s clear this ruling has blindsided the electric vehicle maker, as it only announced plans to reboot its entire line-up in February this year.
This reboot saw a bunch of new vehicles destined for the US and Polestar looked to grow its customer base.
Further to this point, global production of the Polestar 3 was moved from Chengdu, China to the Volvo factory in Ridgeville, South Carolina to avoid Trump’s tariffs.
This puts production of the Polestar 3 in limbo, despite being one of the brand’s best-selling vehicles internationally.
Despite being owned by Geely, the same Chinese parent company, Volvo managed to avoid getting hit with the same ban.
Following the ruling, Polestar issued a PR statement, signalling a shifted focus to the European market.
Michael Lohscheller, Polestar CEO, said: “The automotive industry is entering a new phase, based on regional dynamics. Our strategy reflects that, with Europe being our largest growth engine and our plan to manufacture Polestar 7 in Europe. Our record sales in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 show that we are making strong progress, with several new market launches taking place in Europe this year. In addition, we will continue to invest in markets where we have opportunities to continue to grow, like Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Canada.”
“Polestar continues to challenge bigger, more established players thanks to our impressive cars and growing model line-up. Polestar 5 has received incredible feedback from the global media, with customer deliveries set to start during the summer. A new variant of our global bestseller, Polestar 4, is planned for the second half of this year, followed by the all-new Polestar 2 in 2027, and thereafter the Polestar 7 compact SUV.”
