Polestar says it will focus more on Europe as it's forced to exit the US market

The US Connected Vehicle Rule has effectively banned Polestar from the US market. The company is barred from importing any 2027 model year vehicles, which means it will soon effectively end its sales in the US. The Connected Vehicle Rule is set up to block the sale of connected vehicles (hence the name) which use software linked to China or Russia.

Polestar is owned by Geely, a Chinese automaker, and uses Geely technology in its vehicles of course. Thus, the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security has chosen not to grant Polestar an authorization under the current Connected Vehicle Rule to sell vehicles in the US from the model year 2027 onwards.

In response, Polestar promises to focus even more on the European market, by continuing to expand its sales network and preparing to localize the manufacturing of future models. Europe currently represents "close to 80%" of the company's retail sales volume, the official press release states.

Polestar will continue to sell existing stock of the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 in the US and will continue to support existing customers, including providing access to its service network.

Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller 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.