EV-maker Polestar has fallen victim to the Connected Vehicles Rule and will no longer be allowed to sell its cars in the U.S. beginning with the almost-upon us 2027 model year.
The Biden-era rule was promulgated via an executive order designed to keep America’s increasingly connected passenger cars and light rucks from sending data to certain foreign nations – primarily China and Russia.
Polestar is owned by a Chinese company – Geely Holding Group – and at least one of its models’ underlying platform, including critical connectivity hardware and software, is Chinese-designed or modified.
Volvo wins exemption
Like its corporate sibling, Volvo Cars, Polestar uses Google-based infotainment software, but it also has a proprietary connected vehicle system – Polestar Connect – and was either unable or unwilling to show proof that the software wasn’t capable of sending data to Geely – or others – in China.
Volvo, on the other hand, said it would stop selling its EX30 EV – which uses the same Geely platform as the Polestar 4 – and showed regulators that its other models could not communicate with China or Russia. It obtained a Connected Vehicles Rule exemption that allows it to continue selling new models in the U.S.
That’s the simple version of a very complex rule and situation.
No more Polestars
Bottom line is, no more Polestars (except existing pre-2027 models) can be sold in the U.S.It is the first – and so far only – automaker to feel the impact of the Connected Vehicles Rule.
Polestar apparently doesn’t see its chances here to be as good as elsewhere, so it decided not to – or couldn’t economically afford to – pursue the changes that would be needed to get the same waiver Volvo received.
Meantime, the situation leaves Polestar dealers in the U.S. (most, if not all,of them also Volvo dealers) on the hook for whatever they’ve spent building their showrooms. Polestar said the 32 dealerships would transition to service points, used-car centers and customer support hubs after liquidating their current inventories.
That means existing Polestar owners will be able to keep their cars running, although their resale value is now in the tank.
Polestar deals
That also means there may be some awfully good deals available on new 2026 Polestars remaining in stock. The Polestar 3 is an SUV, the 4 is more of an SUV-coupe with a fastback-y glass roof and no separate rear window. A quick check of existing inventories – they are pretty slim – as this article was being prepared showed discounts ranging from $10,000 to $23,000 depending on model and equipment.
The Polestar 3 is assembled at a factory, shared with Volvo, in South Carolina, the Polestar 4 is assembled at a Renault plant in South Korea. A previous model, the Polestar 2 sedan, was built in China and sales here were discontinued in 2025 under a U.S. ban on Chinese-built EVs.
Polestar currently has dealerships (one in each named state each unless noted) in Arizona, California (4), Colorado, Connecticut, Florida (4), Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey (3), New York (2), North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas (3), Washington, D.C., and Washington state.