Polestar is clearing its remaining US inventory with discounts of up to $25,000, packaging its forced departure from the market as an upbeat marketing push it calls the “Summer of Clarity Event.”
The Sweden-based brand, majority-owned by China’s Geely, is running the incentives through the end of July, after which it can no longer sell new cars in the US under a federal ban.
A banner across Polestar‘s US site sums it up: “Get up to $25,000 off a new Polestar 4 cash purchase or finance at 0% APR. Available until July 31.”
The campaign ranks among the largest single discounts seen in the US EV market, where incentives have grown as demand cooled and the federal tax credit was removed, though few rival a $25,000 cut on one model.
The company disclosed in a June 25 filing that the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security had declined to grant it authorization under the Connected Vehicle Rule, which bars manufacturers owned or controlled by China from selling connected vehicles in the US from the 2027 model year.
The Cash Incentive
The deepest savings come from the “Polestar Clean Vehicle Incentive,” a discount off the sticker price reserved for cash buyers.
Polestar is offering $25,000 off the 2026 Polestar 4 and $23,000 off the 2025 Polestar 3, cuts that push both models to prices normally associated with mainstream EVs rather than the premium segment they compete in.
The rear-motor Polestar 4 drops to about $32,800, and as low as $31,400 on the configurator, from a starting price near $57,800 — a reduction of more than 40% on a 272-horsepower, roughly 310-mile luxury crossover, leaving it near the price of a mid-trim Toyota Camry.
The dual-motor Polestar 4, with 544 horsepower and about 280 miles of range, falls to between $37,900 and $39,300 from around $64,300.
At those levels the entry Polestar 4 undercuts the revived Chevrolet Bolt, which General Motors markets from $28,995 as the cheapest EV on sale in the US, by only a few thousand dollars.
The Polestar 3, built at Volvo‘s plant in South Carolina, carries $23,000 off across its lineup: the long-range single-motor starts at $44,500, down from $67,500, the dual-motor at $50,400 from $73,400, and the dual-motor Performance at $56,400 from $79,400.
The headline figures apply to base cars without options, and inventory limits mean buyers may find little choice of colors and configurations.
Lease and Finance Routes
On leases, Polestar folds in what it labels a “Clean Vehicle Non-cash Incentive” of $19,000 on the Polestar 4 and $20,000 on the Polestar 3, credits baked into the monthly payment rather than paid off the price.
Those support a Polestar 4 lease from $399 a month for 39 months, on an adjusted capitalized cost of $38,795 against a $57,800 sticker, with $1,000 down, and a Polestar 3 lease from $579 a month for 27 months, on a $50,795 cost against a $74,800 sticker, with $5,000 down.
For buyers financing a purchase, Polestar is pairing zero-percent interest over 60 months with discounts of up to about $18,000, a smaller saving than the cash route but with more flexibility.
All of the financing and leasing runs through Volvo Car Financial Services, which operates as Polestar Financial Services, and every offer requires delivery by July 31.
The Loyalty Bonus
Existing customers can stack a further discount on top.
Current or former owners of a Polestar 1, 2, 3 or 4, and eligible members of their households, can claim a loyalty bonus of $4,000 toward a new 2025 Polestar 3 or $1,000 toward a new 2026 Polestar 4, also through the end of July.
The bonus can be applied toward the remaining payments on a current Polestar lease, along with excess wear or mileage, though it cannot be redeemed for cash or put toward sales tax, and is limited to one per eligible vehicle.
The Only Polestar 2 Left
Through its certified pre-owned program, the brand is offering 4.99% financing over 60 months on used Polestar 2 sedans, again valid through July 31, with each car carrying a 112-point inspection, an added two-year limited warranty and complimentary scheduled maintenance.
The Polestar 2 was the brand’s original US volume model and its best-known product, but Polestar pulled it from sale last year when tariffs on China-built cars made importing the sedan uneconomic, and a redesigned version due in 2027 will not be offered in the US.
That leaves the certified pre-owned channel as the only way to buy one, new or nearly new, in the country.
Why Polestar Is Leaving
The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security declined to grant it authorization under the Connected Vehicle Rule, which bars manufacturers owned or controlled by China from selling connected vehicles in the US from the 2027 model year.
Existing 2025 Polestar 3 and 2026 Polestar 4 inventory is unaffected and can still be sold, serviced and warrantied, but the company cannot bring new models into the country once the 2027 model year begins.
The denial turned on ownership rather than assembly.
The Polestar 3 is built in Ridgeville, South Carolina, on a line it shares with the Volvo EX90, and the North American Polestar 4 is built in Busan, South Korea, neither of them in China.
Volvo, which shares Geely as its ultimate parent and builds at the same US plant, received the authorization Polestar was denied, a split that leaves an American-made Polestar blocked from sale while its Volvo sibling continues.
A Company Under Pressure
Polestar reported a first-quarter net loss of $383 million, more than double a year earlier, as its gross margin swung negative and its cash fell 42% in three months to $676 million.
The company has been restructuring its balance sheet, disclosing on July 1 that Geely and Volvo had converted roughly $640 million of shareholder loans into equity since the start of the year, while extending loan terms and expanding a trade-finance facility to 450 million euros.
That financial engineering adds to the incentive to turn parked US inventory into cash quickly, ban or no ban.
US sales had already collapsed, falling 42.2% in the first half to 1,895 vehicles, part of a run of year-over-year monthly declines stretching back to July 2025.
Europe Over America
Chief Executive Michael Lohscheller has cast the US exit as a reason to lean harder into Europe, which accounts for close to 80% of Polestar‘s retail sales.
He framed the decision as a regional pivot rather than a retreat, saying “the automotive industry is entering a new phase, based on regional dynamics.”
About 94% of the brand’s first-quarter volume came from outside the US, and Polestar has named Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Canada as growth targets.
In Europe, the company is preparing the Polestar 5 grand tourer for summer deliveries and will build the coming Polestar 7 compact SUV in Slovakia, its first European-assembled model.
