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The U.S. Federal Government is meddling with the automotive industry, the free market, and capitalism. Ironically, the current administration claims it’s for the latter two items on that list. But on Thursday, the U.S. Government essentially killed an automotive brand in America by forcing Polestar to stop selling new cars.
Pandora’s Box continues to open with no end in sight. The precedent that’s being set is both dangerous, and the ending is unclear at this point.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security denied Polestar an authorization under the current Connected Vehicle Rule to sell cars in the U.S. from model year 2027 on. That’s because Polestar is a subsidiary of Geely, a Chinese automaker.
Ironically, Polestar’s sister brand, also owned by Geely, Volvo, was granted the authorization in May. Why Volvo was granted the authorization and Polestar was not is unclear. “We have no insight into Polestar’s authorization approval process,” a Volvo spokesperson told The Drive.
But Polestar clearly didn’t see this situation coming. The automaker announced a reboot plan in February, which would’ve seen a slew of new product coming to the U.S. as the company grew the lineup.
Global production of the Polestar 3 was moved from Chengdu, China, to Volvo’s Ridgeville, South Carolina, plant specifically to avoid the Trump Administration’s tariffs. The Polestar 3 currently rolls off the South Carolina assembly line alongside its platform mate, the Volvo EX90.
The future of Polestar 3 production is now in limbo despite the model being sold outside the U.S. market. “It’s too early to speculate on that. We have just received this information from U.S. authorities and need to work with Volvo Cars to what our options are. Polestar benefits from the flexibility of our asset-light business model, which is a great strength given the current situation,” a Polestar spokesperson told The Drive.
Subsequently, Volvo spokesperson told The Drive, “It’s too early to speculate on any potential impact that this might have for Volvo Cars. At the end of September 2025, Volvo Cars announced new investments in our state-of-the-art plant in Charleston, to bring two additional Volvo vehicles into production before 2030. These investments still stand.”
The death by U.S. Government force of Polestar is an eye-opening moment, especially for consumers who are in favor of a free market and capitalism. But it’s just the latest, rather large, moment in a continuing saga.
China’s BYD has taken the world by storm and grabbed the spotlight with its EVs. The automaker already believes it’ll reach 16% market share in Europe by 2030. It’s circling the U.S., both in Canada and Mexico, but the Federal Government is blocking BYD and other Chinese automakers from entering the U.S. market.
That artificial wall is what lets other automaker CEOs sleep at night. Ford CEO Jim Farley went to China and came back terrified. Western automotive companies are aware of China’s cost advantage and advanced technology that would run circles around the cars sold here in the U.S. today. The words Farley used were “existential threat.”
It’s not just cars. Hyundai is committed to investing $26 billion in the U.S. between 2025 and 2028. The money will localize the automaker’s supply chain to try to minimize the impact of the Trump Administration’s tariffs. Despite the investment, Hyundai was given the cold shoulder by the Trump Administration and was not exempt from tariffs. That was only a month after hundreds of federal agents raided Hyundai’s Metaplant in Georgia.
Ford builds the Maverick pickup truck in Mexico, while some Super Dutys come from Canada. Ram builds its Heavy Duty trucks in Mexico. Toyota builds a bevy of models in Kentucky, including (now) the RAV4, Lexus ES, and Camry. The auto industry is global in a way Henry Ford could only imagine in the 1920s.
But regardless of whether an automaker is investing in the U.S., or whether its vehicles are competitive (or world beating), the Federal Government is now picking and choosing, and today, without clear logic, who’s in business and who’s not.
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As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media. He’s also a World Car Award juror.
