Polestar makes the Polestar 3 in a South Carolina factory, and warned last year that any sales ban would “shut down the operations of a legally organized American company with significant American investments.”

“The US is an important market for us,” Kim Palmer, Polestar head of PR, told WIRED. Suggesting the specification of non-Chinese software and other materials, Palmer adds: “We are in advanced stages of adjusting our future models to make sure they comply with the regulation in terms of hardware, software and suppliers. “

Nevertheless, Lohscheller may have to ask the Trump administration for dispensation to sell its US-made cars in the US. Trump’s antipathy toward EVs is well known, but it’s unclear how much of America’s EV policy will be influenced by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

“It’s an unusual conflict of interest to see the CEO of Tesla involved in any way in EV policy for the whole country,” said Peter Wells, a business professor and director of the Center for Automotive Industry Research at the Cardiff University in Wales, UK. “There is enormous potential for Musk to rewrite the rules to suit Tesla’s best interests.”

If this turns out to be the case, it could be very difficult for Polestar to get dispensation. Perhaps this is why Lohscheller emphasized Polestar’s pivot in France in his presentation. A trademark dispute with Citroen – the company claimed the Polestar logo was too similar to its own – previously prevented Polestar from being sold in the French market.

However, there is a potential problem. Prospective Polestar buyers do not yet qualify for France’s EV subsidy. “Polestar is not on the list of companies approved by France to qualify for their ecological bonus,” says Wells. “That’s not to say they can’t participate in it in the future, but if they can’t qualify for that scheme, they have an incentive problem.”

Lochscheller said that 2024 was a transition year for Polestar, and that the company would now return to a more traditional dealer-based sales model.

“A lot of things have to change,” Lochscheller said, “starting with sales and distribution. I call it from display to active selling. The company has done a good job setting the direct-to-consumer baseline, now the key task is to make sure that the active sales through retail partners improve.” More showrooms, therefore, and less reliance on online sales—old-school thinking.

“We [retail] footprint is growing,” said Lochscheller, referring to the fact that there are now 25 Polestar showrooms in Sweden, 20 more than last year, and 20 showrooms in the UK, up from eight last year.

“By expanding dealer sales, Polestar can reach more customers, thereby increasing overall sales volume,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights for Cox Automotive, publisher of the Kelley Blue Book vehicle appraiser, tells WIRED. “Customers are more likely to invest in a brand they can interact with and rely on,” she says.

Wells agrees: “Polestar, under new leadership, is now finally going to focus on being better at retail, and being better at bringing in the revenue. They go back to the traditional [automotive] sales model and to present themselves to consumers in a less exotic way.”

Lochscheller, Wells says, gives Polestar a “sense of conservatism, an effort to cut costs, push volumes, adopt a more traditional marketing strategy and generate enough revenue to survive.”

Polestar cars are available in 27 countries. The production of the Polestar 4 will start in the second half of 2025 in South Korea. Polestar 5, a Porsche Taycan-rival GT, will go on sale later this year and is built on the brand’s first custom EV architecture. The proposed Polestar 7 could do well in the US, claims Streaty. “Developing a vehicle in the premium compact SUV segment is a smart move,” she says.

With break-even still at least two years away, Polestar will likely need additional financing to see it through to profitability. But Polestar – which relies on support from its eventual Chinese owner – may not have two years, Wells claims. “The Chinese EV market is booming, but there is a lot of competition, with big price cuts. The risk for Polestar is that their financial support may not last. Polestar may become an extravagance too far for Geely. Market conditions move faster than company strategic plans.”