AIBRIEF
Polestar, the Volvo EV brand majority owned by China's Geely, will leave the US in 2027 after a regulator reversed course on its Chinese software application.
Polestar will stop selling in the US starting with the 2027 model year after Commerce rejected its application under a Biden-era rule banning vehicles with connected software from China. Commerce had approved Volvo, owned by the same Chinese parent, roughly a month earlier.
In an Aug. 18 letter to dealers obtained by The Verge and first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Greg Wexler wrote that the Trump administration "strung us along" for months. Polestar had filed with Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security on May 29, 2025.
According to Wexler's letter, BIS Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler told Polestar in an in-person meeting that approval would be reasonable if Volvo were cleared under the same Geely ownership and the same hardware and software stack used in the Polestar 3 and Volvo EX90. Commerce approved Volvo in May 2026 and rejected Polestar about a month later. Polestar offered audits and geographic restrictions. BIS has not published a rationale.
Polestar has already pivoted to Europe. A New Jersey dealer is separately suing Polestar, alleging the ban is cover for a planned exit. The connected-vehicles rule took effect March 17, 2025.