Trump Tariff War May Block Polestar 2 From U.S.

There’s still hope, however.

When the Polestar 2 launched last week, it was quite clear that it would be sold in the U.S. There was a U.S. price ($63,000 for the high-spec Launch Edition), it was noted that the trick pixel LED headlights would not be available here because they the don’t conform to our outdated codes, and our country was mentioned as one of the regions a promotional tour would pass through. Now comes news of a possible problem with that plan.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said the current price tag includes the 27.5-percent penalty for Chinese-built vehicles, and explained the situation thusly:

The business case for bringing the car to the US is highly dependent on the type of tariffs we have. It wouldn’t make sense to offer the car for a ridiculous price.

The tariffs are not permanent, of course, and there have been a number of changes to them as the two countries continue trade-centered talks. Meant to reduce a large trade deficit, new numbers just released seem to suggest the measures have been ineffective as that metric has gotten worse over the past two years.

It remains to be seen whether this new information will cause a tariff re-think anytime soon. Still, there is time for the things to change before the car’s original U.S. delivery timeframe of July 2020. There is even a chance the existing penalties could be reduced or removed, which would help Polestar better position its offerings in our market. Fingers crossed that this is the way forward.

Polestar 2








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