Polestar owners were left ‘holding the bag’ when the EV model came out in the US

Last month, Polestar shocked the car industry when it announced announced that it was leaving the US.

The EV company’s decision came after the federal government refused permission to continue selling its vehicles though a ban on cars with China’s connected car software. Polestar, which is based in Sweden but majority owned by China’s Geely, said it will stop selling its cars in the US starting in 2027.

For thousands of Polestar owners and many dealers in the US, it was a moment of frustration and uncertainty. What would happen to their cars? Who would help them? Would they still receive software updates? And at a time when EV prices have fallen, what will happen to the value of their cars? With these questions swirling, many are now looking for someone to blame – and they are not coming up with clear answers.

“It feels like we’re the ones left holding the bag, with no compensation for sudden damage to cars we’ve just bought or leased,” he said. DL Byronan inventor and manufacturer from the state of Washington, who took the official Polestar 2 that he already had a few days before the company announced that it was closing down in the US. “For now I have to trust that Polestar will honor its warranty and its services.”

Volvo, which is also the majority owner of Geely, has received permission from the Commerce Department to continue selling its cars in the US despite its ties to China – which also infuriates Polestar owners.

“The ‘brand’ model has failed in the US, and it’s on Polestar – not the owners who bought it,” Byron said. Seaside. “We have to do better.”

Matthew Haiken, who owns a Polestar dealership in Short Hills, New Jersey, says federal bankruptcy laws often provide protection if a manufacturer fails or voluntarily withdraws from the U.S. market. This protection exists because dealers make large investments that cannot be easily repaid, including the exclusive Polestar brand, long-term mortgages, and special replacement parts.

But this is different, since Polestar is not failing or leaving the US due to low sales. Instead, it’s being undermined by a Biden-era law that bans the sale of any car equipped with an embedded software that comes from “countries of concern,” which include China, Russia, and Iran.

“This is the first time anyone has said, ‘Hey, this isn’t us. It’s out of our control. It’s the government,'” Haiken said. Seaside. “So we are very vulnerable.”

Regardless of how new car sales end, Haiken dealers have rules they can’t ignore. In New Jersey, Polestar vehicles have an eight-year battery warranty, while California requires a 10-year, 150,000-mile battery warranty. So dealers must be there to fix warranties for years into the future – even if new car sales will be over by then. Dealers also manage large rental properties, meaning they will need to accept rental returns, buy used cars, and resell them on the used market.

Haiken added: “It’s still too early for me to know what the future holds. “We have to be here to get customers, but what does that mean? How does it work? I don’t know yet.”

Polestar says it is working with its sales representatives to facilitate the change. “Existing Polestar owners and rental customers will continue to receive the same service and access to services as they do today,” Polestar spokesman Michael Ofiara said in a statement. “All existing warranties remain in effect and will continue to be honored to the extent they exist.

There is almost no precedent for this. Unlike Fisker, the EV model that went wrongdistracting his customers without service or partsPolestar will continue to be present in other countries. The company said that “94 percent of retail sales in the first quarter of 2026 came from markets outside the US” – although some of its US suppliers dispute this.

Haiken says that while he has no guarantees, he wants to stay in business as long as possible. (He also runs a number of non-Polestar dealerships.) Instead, he expects sales to pick up because of the deep discount — up to $25,000 off – for the recently announced Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 models. Haiken interprets this as evidence that customers remain confident that the sales network will continue to support them.

However, some retailers may choose to close. On RedditA Polestar employee said that the San Francisco and San Jose locations are close to completion, which would force him to travel more than 300 miles to Los Angeles to return his cars when the lease ends. (The Polestar dealer replied that Volvo dealers in nearby Marin County would accept the man’s car.) The company he said Reuters in the near future that it has 32 service centers in the US, most of which are Volvo dealerships.

“If most sales teams leave, what does the map look like?” asked Byron, owner of the latest Polestar 2. “Polestar’s statement promises that there will be permanent support. The open question is whether they will drive themselves, as Rivian and Tesla do.”

Haiken says its suppliers must find new uses for some of its equipment – and other suppliers must also grapple with difficult decisions. A million-plus sale with no cars to sell suddenly becomes a real drag on the banks. Volvo, where Polestar originally came from, does not want to share its sales and services with a brand that has disappeared forever.

“I don’t think there are too many people,” Haiken said. “Or a brand that invests millions of dollars in marketing and advertising…

Haiken predicts that many Polestar dealers will be able to downsize or close entirely. It’s a bad time for the brand, and all EVs. Struggling with policy changes, automakers have been struggling to develop low-cost, high-efficiency battery-powered vehicles. And EV sales in the US are still on the decline, down 22 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026.

But Haiken remains convinced that EVs are the future.

“EV – driving, same torque, low cost of ownership over the life of the vehicle – is a great technology,” he said. “And at the end of the day, I know he’s going to win.”