Polestar reported second-quarter retail gross sales of 17,296 automobiles on Thursday, a 4% decline from 18,026 autos in the identical interval final 12 months, because the Swedish electrical automobile maker faces a ban from the U.S. market beginning with the 2027 mannequin 12 months.
For the primary half of 2026, Polestar’s retail gross sales totaled 30,423 automobiles, up 0.4% from 30,289 within the first half of 2025, the corporate stated. Excluding a subset of gross sales the corporate tracks individually, the half-year determine rose 3.1% to twenty-eight,562 autos, whereas second-quarter gross sales on that foundation fell 3.9% to 16,175 automobiles.
CEO Michael Lohscheller stated in an announcement that the corporate’s retail community now stands at 235 websites, a 39% improve in comparison with final 12 months. “The primary buyer deliveries of Polestar 5 are set to start out and manufacturing of the Polestar 4 SUV has began, with first deliveries anticipated throughout the fourth quarter,” he stated.
The U.S. market exit stems from the Commerce Division’s Linked Car Rule, which restricts autos with Chinese language software program or {hardware} from American roads. Authorization to proceed U.S. gross sales was granted to Volvo Automobiles, a sister model, a couple of month earlier than Polestar — majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding — had its personal request denied, Reuters reported. The software program ban takes impact with the 2027 mannequin 12 months, whereas a {hardware} ban follows in 2030.
Within the U.S., present inventory of the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 will stay accessible for buy, the corporate stated, and clients will retain entry to its service community; gross sales of used autos may also go on.
The corporate introduced its U.S. exit in late June, noting on the time that 94% of its first-quarter retail gross sales got here from outdoors the U.S. and that it was redirecting business efforts towards Europe. Polestar inventory fell greater than 13% on the day of that announcement.
The gross sales figures arrive towards a backdrop of mounting monetary strain. As disclosed in Could, Polestar posted a first-quarter internet lack of $383 million — greater than double its $166 million loss in the identical interval a 12 months earlier — as U.S. and European Union tariffs mixed with pricing strain drove its gross margin to unfavorable 3.2%, down from constructive 10.3% a 12 months earlier. Confronted with tariff headwinds, Polestar’s technique has shifted towards updating its present lineup somewhat than introducing new fashions from scratch, Reuters reported.