Polestar claims it was blindsided by sales ban

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.

(Original synthesis pending human/AI review — generated by the stub provider by selecting real sentences from the source material, not by writing new analysis or commentary.)