Right now you can buy a luxury electric car at nearly half price. But there is a catch.
The vehicle is the Polestar 4, a favorably reviewed crossover S.U.V. from a Chinese-owned brand that will exit the United States after the 2026 model year. The brand is entangled in a crackdown on automobiles from Chinese companies, in this case because its technology didn’t meet a new federal security standard.
The base Polestar 4 lists for $56,400, and after a $25,000 incentive the price is $31,400, putting it in the realm of economy E.V.s and used Teslas.
That means buying a Polestar 4 might be the greatest bargain in the short history of E.V.s, or possibly a harebrained recipe for buyer’s remorse.
A new federal rule will soon ban certain “connected vehicle” communication software from companies with Russian and Chinese ties. The goal is to protect against unfriendly foreign countries using their cars here as data-collecting spy tools, or from taking cars over for remote sabotage.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said that Polestar had not conformed to the rule, so it must wrap up its U.S. car sales after 2026.
It has good range, 310 miles in the single-motor version, 255 in the high-performance dual-motor trim, although in a “real world” test by Edmunds, the latter version managed 286 miles on a single charge. And the charging time is reasonably snappy.
Critics were generally admiring. Top Gear wrote, “It’s quick and smooth and steers nicely. For the dual motor, insert the words ‘very’ and ‘very’ before the word ‘quick.’” Richard Lane of Autocar wrote, “quieter than the Tesla Model Y, and a match for the sturdier-feeling Porsche Macan Electric. At speed and away from more threadbare surfaces, it is a pleasure to while away the miles in the Polestar.”
And there is the primary advantage, the discount. “With E.V.s the biggest barrier is price,” said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, an analyst for Cox Automotive. “When you look at those discounts it makes it accessible.” Her statistics show that after incentives, the average discount on Polestar 4s in July was 49.8 percent (for the Polestar 3 it was 28.5 percent).
Cox Automotive calculations put the average transaction price before incentives at $54,680, and the average incentive at $27,235, leaving a payment of $27,445, before title, tags, taxes and other state and dealer fees. “Yeah,” Ms. Streaty added. “Great value.”
The reason Polestar was not exempted from the new federal rule has been the subject of conjecture because its sister company, Volvo, which is also owned by Geely, was cleared to continue its U.S. operations.
Rick Bryant, head of Polestar North America, said he didn’t know what had spared Volvo from a similar fate. “We don’t know what transpired with them, and they don’t know what transpired with us,” he said. “We are separate companies.” However, all Polestars are now, and will continue to be, serviced though a Volvo franchise.
Mr. Bryant said he could not discuss the approval process in detail because a New Jersey dealership, Prestige Imports, has sued Polestar for $25 million, arguing that Polestar is using the ruling as an excuse to exit the U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio and former car dealer, made a similar claim on a CBT News video interview in July, calling the exit “a scam on dealers” and citing Volvo’s ability to meet regulations. “Polestar used it as a convenient excuse,” he said, “because they were losing $35,000 per car.”
Mr. Bryant denied the claim. “We put up a valiant battle,” he said.
The overriding concern is the availability of parts and service after the company’s exit. The consensus is that the Polestar is not for the risk-averse, although experts disagree on how much risk there really is.
The company has published the Polestar Promise, pledging continued support, a supply of parts and service, including software updates, in concert with its sister Volvo dealerships. “We made a commitment to our dealers,” Mr. Bryant said. “Owners will get all of the support they could get from an ongoing retailer.” (Some of this is required by various state laws, too.)
“All of our Polestar dealers are also Volvo dealers,” he added. “For all of the consumers doing business with them, nothing changes.”
Ray Shefska, a former car sales manager and co-founder of the car-buying service CarEdge, has faith in those assurances. “I really don’t think there are any future concerns for people,” he said. “Its affiliation is so strong, even if the 32 Polestar dealerships were to close up, all of the service will be handled at Volvo.”
But Tom Partland of Automatch has reservations. “If one of my clients asked if I would recommend this, I’d say probably not,” he said. “I am rather risk-averse.”
While dozens of car brands have disappeared over the ages (DeLorean, anyone?) experts say the Polestar exit looks less like Fisker, a defunct car company that suddenly shuttered, leaving owners to fend for themselves, and more like Suzuki, which exited the United States in 2012, but honored warranties in a yearslong wind-down. Because Suzuki is still operating, parts remain available, though independent mechanics now do the servicing. Polestar, too, will continue operating elsewhere, including in Canada and Mexico.
So who is the ideal buyer for the Polestar 4? Shoppers who are considering the Cadillac Lyriq, Porsche Macan Electric or Taycan, but are balking at the prices, the experts say.
First and foremost, it’s someone who trusts Polestar’s promise to provide parts, service and software.
This buyer is also willing to take what’s on the lot. These are people who appreciate a somewhat quirky luxury car, and don’t care about resale value. “The residual values are shot,” Mr. Shefska said. “Nothing is depreciating faster than a Polestar right now.”
One way to avoid the resale issue is to lease a Polestar 4. “The leasing could be a real deal out there,” said Kevin Roberts, an analyst for CarGurus. The lowered prices have brought lease numbers down to $399 a month for the single motor and $499, with $1,499 at signing, for the dual. Terms vary by geographic location.
Of course, there is the possibility that the value will increase if the cars become rare, and therefore collectible. “Maybe 30 years from now one shows up at a Barrett-Jackson auction and someone pays too much for it,” Mr. Shefska said. “There are always collectors of everything.”
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