Polestar Dealer Matthew Haiken Blames Geely, Not Washington, as 32 US Showrooms Count Down to 2027 Cutoff

Since the Commerce Department's denial of Polestar's connected-vehicle authorization in late June, the focus among the brand's 32 US dealers has moved from shock to accountability.

Matthew Haiken, who owns Polestar Short Hills in northern New Jersey as part of his Prestige Collection Auto Group, has been one of the few dealers speaking publicly. His position has not softened. "I am very frustrated in Polestar, globally," Haiken told Wired. "I think they really dropped the ball, and I blame them. I don't blame the government."

The rule itself, a ban on vehicles containing Chinese- or Russian-made connected-vehicle hardware and software, was finalized by the Commerce Department under the Biden administration in January 2025. Then-Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo made the national security rationale explicit when the rule was proposed: "It doesn't take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of US citizens."

The rule is not targeted at Polestar specifically. It covers internet-connected automotive cameras, microphones, and GPS equipment from adversary nations. Manufacturers had a path around it: apply for authorization and demonstrate, through direct engagement with regulators, that their governance, technology, and data security meet federal standards.

Volvo Got Through. Polestar Did Not.

Volvo, which is also majority-owned by China's Geely Holding and its founder Li Shufu—the same corporate parent as Polestar—received Commerce Department authorization in March 2026. Volvo said it held "constructive discussions" with the department about its governance, technology, and data security.

Polestar did not get there. The company has declined to explain the discrepancy in any meaningful detail. When Wired asked about the gap between Volvo's approval and its own denial, a Polestar spokesperson said the company "cannot comment on how legislation applies to other manufacturers."

Dealers who have invested, by Haiken's account, "many millions" collectively across 32 US showrooms since the brand launched here are unlikely to be satisfied with that response. Haiken opened his New Jersey location in 2021.

A Dealer's Lived Experience of the EV Roller Coaster

Haiken's tenure at Polestar Short Hills has tracked every major EV market swing of the past five years. There was the Covid-era demand spike and the inventory shortage that pushed some used EVs above new-car sticker prices. Then the federal $7,500 EV tax credit brought a fresh wave of buyers. Then that credit was rolled back, along with a state-level credit in New Jersey, cooling demand. Then came an unexpected bump: drivers fleeing Tesla over Elon Musk's involvement with the Trump administration, per Wired's reporting.

Now the dealership faces its most serious challenge yet, one with no obvious workaround. Polestar vehicles will not be sold in the US beginning with the 2027 model year.

"It's so unfortunate," Haiken said. "It's hard for my customers who have been reaching out; it's hard for my staff."

The Strongest Case for Polestar

A fair reading of the situation requires acknowledging what Polestar's defenders would argue: the connected-vehicle authorization process is opaque, and the criteria for approval have not been made fully public. It is possible that Polestar faced structural disadvantages, related to how deeply Geely's technology is embedded in the vehicle architecture, that Volvo did not. A company can engage regulators in good faith and still fail to satisfy undisclosed technical thresholds. The authorization process is not a transparent public proceeding with published standards, so the claim that Polestar simply "dropped the ball" cannot be fully verified from public records alone.

Haiken is not a partisan commentator. He is a dealer who invested real money in the brand and who is now watching a sister company under the same ownership clear the same regulatory bar. His frustration is grounded in a specific, documented outcome.

What Comes Next

The Commerce Department has not announced any appeal or reconsideration process for Polestar. Polestar has not announced any plan to restructure its US corporate or technology relationships to requalify. The 2027 model year cutoff stands as of July 3, 2026.

The unresolved question for Haiken and the other 31 US dealers is whether Polestar's global leadership will attempt to re-engage Commerce before that cutoff, or whether the company has effectively accepted the US exit. Polestar has not answered that question publicly.