Polestar has told its US dealers it will stop selling cars in the country after the current model year, the Electric Viking reports, citing a federal rule on connected-vehicle technology tied to Chinese ownership. The video says the decision, announced in late June, means Polestar will not receive certification for the 2027 model year and beyond, and that remaining US dealers largely become service centers for existing owners. Polestar is majority owned by China's Geely. The host contrasts the outcome with sister brand Volvo, which the video says received authorization to keep importing despite similar ownership, and walks through dealer reaction the channel describes as devastated and blindsided. The host says Polestar had warned for more than a year that the rules could force it out of the US market.
The rule at the center of this is publicly documented: the US Commerce Department's connected-vehicle regulation, finalized in early 2025, restricts vehicles with certain China-linked hardware and software covering systems such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular, and satellite connectivity, on national-security grounds. That rule predates the current administration and was kept in place, which is why the video frames it as a continuation rather than a brand-new policy. For buyers, the immediate effect is narrow: the video says Polestar will keep selling its remaining US inventory of the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 and will continue servicing existing cars. The host also notes the move does not affect Polestar outside North America, and that Canada is not impacted, at least not yet. He raises one more angle worth flagging: he argues a carmaker could in principle design a vehicle that does not transmit data off-board at all, which might satisfy the rule, and wonders aloud why Polestar did not pursue that route, though he stresses he is speculating rather than reporting a decision.
According to the video, US sales were already a small part of Polestar's business, with the company reporting that Europe accounted for the large majority of first-quarter sales and the US only a single-digit share. The host relays dealer comments describing heavy investment now stranded, including one dealer said to be sitting on a 76-day supply of unsold cars, and the chair of the dealer board calling the ban a shock given Volvo's different treatment. He notes Polestar runs a few dozen US dealerships, many of which may shift to servicing through Volvo sites. Polestar's CEO is quoted framing the company's future around Europe, including a plan to build the upcoming Polestar 7 there. The host adds that Polestar has leaned on its parent for capital and completed a reverse stock split last year, context he uses to argue the brand may have decided the cost of complying with the US rule was not worth a market this small. These figures and quotes are as presented by the channel, which is itself relaying dealer and company statements rather than independent reporting, so the specific numbers should be read as claims attributed to those sources.
Bottom line: The hard part for Polestar is not the lost US volume, which was small, but the message it sends: a brand can do everything right on the product and still be shut out by rules it does not control. The obvious question the video raises, why Volvo cleared the same bar and Polestar did not, deserves a real answer, and so far no one has given one on the record. For US shoppers who wanted a Polestar, the window is closing to current inventory. For everyone else, this is a preview of how trade policy, not the car itself, may decide which EVs you can buy.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.