Polestar cars banned from sale in the US. Will Lotus be next?

Polestar will no longer be allowed to sell cars in the United States of America from the 2027 model year onwards. This is due to a ruling by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which has refused to grant Polestar authorisation to sell under the current Connected Vehicle Rule. The company will sell its existing stock before exiting the US market but has committed to maintaining aftercare services for existing customers.

The ruling relates to the US’s forthcoming Connected Vehicle Rule. This restricts the sale of new cars containing hardware and software technology that could have links to China or Russia. Polestar is owned by Chinese conglomerate Geely, with its Polestar 3 and 4 models based on platforms closely related to those designed, engineered and manufactured by Geely. The underlying issue is data security. The US Government is concerned that cars could share data, or be accessed remotely by companies or organisations in these foreign countries that may be subject to political influence.

Geely owns Polestar as well as fellow group brands Lotus and Volvo. Unlike Polestar, Volvo has received certification to continue selling its cars in the US. There is no word yet on whether Lotus or other Geely group brands will face the same exclusion. The Lotus Eletre and Emeya are both built in Wuhan, China and both use the EPA (Electric Premium Architecture) platform, which is a version of the SEA architecture that underpins Zeekr, Geely, Smart and, indeed, Polestar and Volvo models.

Polestar builds its 2 saloon, its 4 SUV and its new Taycan-rivalling Polestar 5 saloon in China. However, the Polestar 3 SUV is built in the US at Volvo’s Ridgeville plant in South Carolina. It was moved from the marque’s Chengdu plant in order to avoid the Trump administration’s tariffs on overseas-built cars.

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Polestar has emphasised that the US market accounts for only 6 per cent of its sales volumes as of the first quarter of 2026. Europe alone represents a massive 80 per cent of its volumes, and it is here that, in response to the ruling, the brand will ‘increase its strategic focus’. Polestar will manufacture its forthcoming Polestar 7 compact SUV in Europe after 2027. Its plans to introduce a new variant of the Polestar 4 SUV and a second-generation Polestar 2 saloon will continue unchanged.