Polestar Sales Are Booming. Thank The Country That Just Banned It

American buyers helped Polestar post record sales. But its shrinking business elsewhere shows why replacing the U.S. won’t be easy.

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

By: Andrei Nedelea

Oct 8, at 3:37pm ET

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Polestar’s global Q3 sales rose 1%, but fell 8% excluding the United States.
U.S. sales more than doubled as Polestar sold inventory ahead of its model-year 2027 ban.
New models must help replace American sales, while profitability remains a separate challenge.

Polestar just recorded its strongest third quarter ever. That’s great news for the electric automaker, but the awkward part is where the growth came from: the country that has effectively barred it from selling cars.

The EV maker’s worldwide sales edged up 1% year over year in Q3, but remove the United States, and they fell 8%. America is helping Polestar keep its numbers positive as the company prepares for a future without access to it.

Third-quarter deliveries reached an estimated 14,371 vehicles, up from 14,222 a year earlier. Outside the U.S., volume fell to 12,211 from 13,256. Subtracting those figures, American sales came to 2,160 vehicles, up from 966—an increase of about 124%. Those additional 1,194 deliveries more than offset the 1,045-car decline elsewhere.

Polestar 4 and Polestar 4 SUV

Photo by: Polestar

Global sales in the first nine months of 2026 reached a record 44,790, up 0.6% from 44,511. Excluding America, they fell 0.5% to 40,773 from 40,968. That implies U.S. sales of 4,017 versus 3,543, up around 13%.

In June, Polestar was shut out of selling cars in the United States under a new Department of Commerce rule prohibiting certain Chinese connectivity and driver-assistance technology. While Volvo, which also falls under the Geely Group umbrella, was granted an exemption, Polestar's effort to get around the ban was denied.

In the wake of the decision, Polestar deeply discounted its cars to clear out inventory. Polestar 4 discounts reached $25,000. There were great deals to be had on Polestar 3s too. That may be behind the stronger sales, but the Polestar did not share a model-by-model breakdown for the U.S. So this was more of a sugar high than a sign of sustainable growth for Polestar, which posted around $1 billion in operating losses in 2025 despite record sales of 60,119 cars.

Polestar will continue selling existing inventory and says it will maintain customer service even once it can no longer sell new cars. In August, the manufacturer said it was blindsided by the decision and still didn't quite understand why Volvo was treated differently, despite the Polestar 3 and Volvo EX90 sharing the same South Carolina assembly line.

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Elsewhere in the world, the lineup is expanding beyond the Polestar 2 fastback, 3 SUV and original 4 crossover. Customer deliveries of the Polestar 5 grand tourer have begun. The new Polestar 4 SUV adds a more practical (distinctly wagon-like) body, more cargo space, and a view out the back, with shipments scheduled for the fourth quarter.

A replacement Polestar 2 will arrive in 2027, followed by the compact Polestar 7 in 2028. The Polestar 6 roadster remains planned. The bigger lineup could help Polestar attract more buyers and build to long-term sustainability. It'll just have to do that without the U.S.