Sales estimates from Motor Intelligence published on Tuesday showed that Polestar sold 340 vehicles in the US last month, marking the fifth consecutive month of a year-over-year downturn.
Registrations for the Geely-backed brand rose sequentially in November, ending a two-month streak of declining sales, with October having been its weakest sales month year-to-date.
Polestar has sold 5,367 vehicles in the US market from January 1 to November 30, which indicates a year-over-year drop of 28.2% — based on the 7,479 vehicles sold in the first eleven months of 2024.
Electric vehicle sales in the US continued to decline in November, following a September surge in demand ahead of the EV tax credit deadline.
Ford reported that its EV sales dropped 61% year over year, totaling 4,247 vehicles.
Estimates from Motor Intelligence show that Tesla sold 39,800 vehicles last month, representing a 2.1% decrease compared to October and a 23% plunge year over year.
Meanwhile, Rivian and Lucid registered 4,500 and 980 units, respectively, both increasing month over month and year over year.
Polestar 2
According to Motor Intelligence, which separates “cars” from “trucks,” Polestar sold just seven Polestar 2 sedans, with the remaining 333 units being Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 SUVs.
The weaker Polestar 2 sales are explained by the removal of the option to configure the sedan in the US in April, as uncertainty grew around auto tariffs announced by Donald Trump.
As of December 2, the company has sold all Polestar 2 inventory, so customers can only buy pre-owned units.
Polestar 3
In contrast, the Polestar 3 is still available for both configurations and immediate purchase.
Polestar announced last month that it is making bi-directional charging available to owners of its Polestar 3 SUV in the US, starting with California.
The functionality will be enabled for current Polestar 3 vehicles on the 400V electrical architecture, launched in 2022 and first delivered in June 2024.
Last month, Polestar unveiled a new version of its most expensive SUV, built on a 800V platform.
However, it is unclear when the new version will begin deliveries in the US, as the brand aims to start exporting it to the UK first.
Polestar 4
The EV maker unveiled the Polestar 4 SUV in late 2023, with deliveries starting in Europe in the third quarter of 2024.
In the US, orders opened in April 2024 — but the brand never delivered the model in the country.
The company opened orders for the 2026 Polestar 4 in the United States a few months ago, with a starting price of $56,400, and informed customers that previous orders would be updated for this iteration, with the price remaining unchanged.
The company has since then trimmed the pricing on the vehicle by $10,000.
As it aims to secure demand after the EV tax credit ended, and as the end of the year approaches, Polestar is also offering a Clean Vehicle Incentive of $7,500 to $10,000, depending on the payment method, up until January 2.
As of December 2, the Polestar 4, exclusively produced in Asia (unlike the Polestar 3, which is produced in the US), is expected to be delivered in May-June 2026, according to the company’s website.
The company’s CEO Michael Lohscheller confirmed last month that production of the model has begun in South Korea.
“The Polestar 4s that are set to be delivered to customers starting in Canada are the first Polestar 4s manufactured at the Busan, South Korean factory,” he stated.
The chief executive noted that after “having spent last week with our dealers from Canada and the US, I’m very excited about the prospects for this SUV coupé in the two very important markets.”
Service Centers
In the US, Polestar currently has just 32 stores in 19 states, which forces customers to travel long distances for maintenance.
“You can’t just utilize any [Volvo] service center,” Bryant said. “In some states, if you make somebody an authorized service point, by default, you make them a dealer.”
“We can sell anywhere in the United States with ease,” Polestar‘s North America chief, Rick Bryant, told Automotive News in November. “The difficulty becomes on the service side.”
Polestar partnered with Volvo dealers in the US for service, while opening direct-to-consumer showrooms for sales.
To expand coverage, the EV maker is considering standalone used-car centers with repair shops, returning from leasing contracts or as trade-in vehicles.
“We’re starting to get back some of our used EVs — 3,000, 4,000, 5,000-mile cars with great batteries,” Bryant said.
The used-car business could help retailers expand service capacity, according to the country chief, who sees “lots of opportunity to create a satellite-type network” of used Polestar stores serving as authorized service centers, he added.
