Polestar is pulling new vehicles out of the US market starting with model year 2027 after the Commerce Department declined to grant it authorization under the Connected Vehicle Rule, the company confirmed today. The decision effectively ends new-car sales in the US for the Geely-owned Swedish EV brand — even though one of its models is assembled in South Carolina. What Commerce decided The Bureau of Industry and Security, part of the US Department of Commerce, declined to grant Polestar (Nasdaq: PSNY) an authorization to sell vehicles in the US from model year 2027 onward under the current Connected Vehicle Rule. The rule, finalized in January 2025, bans connected vehicles with a “sufficient nexus” to China or Russia from the US market, with the software prohibitions taking effect for model year 2027 and hardware restrictions following in 2030. It covers telematics, cameras, microphones, GPS, Bluetooth, cellular modules, and automated driving software across gas, hybrid, and electric vehicles alike. Polestar’s problem is ownership, not where the cars are built. The brand is majority-owned by Geely, the Chinese automotive group that also controls Volvo Cars. That nexus is what triggers the rule, regardless of the factory location — a dynamic that traces back to the Biden administration’s 2024 warning that Chinese-connected vehicles could harvest US driver data. It’s a notable outcome given the geography of Polestar’s lineup. The Polestar 3 is built at Volvo’s plant in Charleston, South Carolina, while the Polestar 4 is assembled in Busan, South Korea — neither is made in China. The Volvo contrast Here’s the catch: Volvo, also owned by Geely, was granted authorization to keep selling connected vehicles in the US. Same parent company, opposite outcome. Volvo operates as a separately listed, more established automaker with a larger US footprint, while Polestar is more tightly entangled