When the Law Kills Your Electric Car Dealership
When the Law Kills Your Electric Car Dealership
当法律“扼杀”了你的电动汽车经销店
Owning a US electric vehicle dealership has been a wild ride in the 2020s. 在 2020 年代，经营一家美国电动汽车经销店可谓是一场跌宕起伏的冒险。
Since Polestar Short Hills opened in northern New Jersey in 2021, it went through a Covid-era demand spike and EV shortage that left some used electrics with higher valuations than new ones; a new federal tax credit of up to $7,500 that brought a new wave of drivers in the door; lower sales volumes after the rollback of that federal tax credit, and the snipping of a state one; and then another wave of buying when EV-curious drivers began running from Elon Musk’s Tesla because of the CEO’s involvement with the Trump administration. 自 2021 年极星（Polestar）Short Hills 门店在新泽西州北部开业以来，它经历了新冠疫情期间的需求激增和电动汽车短缺，导致一些二手电动车的估值甚至高于新车；随后，高达 7,500 美元的新联邦税收抵免政策带来了一波新的购车热潮；而在该联邦税收抵免政策回撤及州级补贴削减后，销量又出现下滑；紧接着，由于埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）参与特朗普政府事务，导致对电动汽车感兴趣的消费者开始远离特斯拉，从而引发了又一波购车潮。
Now, Matthew Haiken, who owns that Polestar dealership along with three other (non-Polestar) dealerships in the Prestige Collection Auto Group, faces another and more serious challenge. Polestar said in late June that the US Commerce Department had denied an authorization that would have allowed the brand to continue selling cars in the US despite a federal rule restricting the sale of vehicles with Chinese-made connected-vehicle technology. The company, which is majority-owned by China’s Geely Holding and its founder Li Shufu, says it will stop selling Polestar vehicles in the US beginning with the 2027 model year. 如今，拥有该极星经销店以及 Prestige Collection Auto Group 旗下另外三家（非极星）经销店的马修·海肯（Matthew Haiken）正面临另一项更严峻的挑战。极星在 6 月下旬表示，美国商务部拒绝了一项授权申请，该授权本可允许该品牌在联邦限制销售含有中国制造联网汽车技术的车辆的规定下，继续在美国销售汽车。极星公司由中国吉利控股集团及其创始人李书福控股，该公司表示，从 2027 车型年开始，将停止在美国销售极星汽车。
“It’s so unfortunate,” Haiken says. “It’s hard for my customers who have been reaching out; it’s hard for my staff.” He says he and the owners of the US’s other 31 Polestar dealerships have invested “many millions” in selling the cars and called the authorization decision “a shock to me and all the dealers.” “这太不幸了，”海肯说道，“对于一直联系我的客户来说很难，对我的员工来说也很难。”他表示，他和美国其他 31 家极星经销店的店主在销售这些汽车上投入了“数百万美元”，并称这一授权决定“对我及所有经销商来说都是一个打击”。
Volvo, which is also majority-owned by Geely, received authorization from the Commerce Department in March, allowing it to continue selling its vehicles in the US, despite its Chinese connections. Volvo said at the time that it held “constructive discussions” with the department about the automaker’s “governance, technology and data security.” (When asked about the discrepancy, a Polestar spokesperson said that the company “cannot comment on how legislation applies to other manufacturers.”) 同样由吉利控股的沃尔沃（Volvo）在 3 月份获得了美国商务部的授权，尽管其具有中国背景，仍被允许继续在美国销售汽车。沃尔沃当时表示，已就该车企的“治理、技术和数据安全”问题与商务部进行了“建设性讨论”。（当被问及这种差异时，极星发言人表示，公司“无法评论立法如何适用于其他制造商”。）
“I am very frustrated in Polestar, globally,” Haiken says. “I think they really dropped the ball, and I blame them. I don’t blame the government.” “我对极星全球的表现感到非常沮丧，”海肯说，“我认为他们确实失职了，我责怪他们。我不怪政府。”
The Commerce Department under the Biden Administration officially approved the connected-vehicle rule in January 2025, after government officials argued that a ban on Chinese- and Russian-made automotive hardware and software was necessary for national security reasons. The federal government said that internet-connected automotive cameras, microphones, and GPS equipment threatened US safety. “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,” Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo said at the time. 拜登政府领导下的商务部于 2025 年 1 月正式批准了联网汽车规则，此前政府官员辩称，出于国家安全考虑，禁止使用中国和俄罗斯制造的汽车硬件和软件是必要的。联邦政府表示，联网的汽车摄像头、麦克风和 GPS 设备威胁到了美国的安全。商务部长吉娜·雷蒙多（Gina Raimondo）当时表示：“不需要太多的想象力就能理解，外国对手如果获取这些信息，可能会对我们的国家安全和美国公民的隐私构成严重风险。”
The US Commerce Department did not respond to WIRED’s questions. 美国商务部未回应《连线》（WIRED）杂志的置评请求。
Polestar said in a statement last week that US dealerships would sell “existing stock” of the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4, and that a US service network would “continue to support customers.” It framed the move as “increasing its strategic focus on Europe,” and said that 94 percent of Polestar’s first quarter 2026 sales took place outside of the US. 极星在上周的一份声明中表示，美国经销商将销售极星 3 和极星 4 的“现有库存”，且美国的售后服务网络将“继续为客户提供支持”。该公司将此举描述为“加强其在欧洲的战略重点”，并表示极星 2026 年第一季度 94% 的销量来自美国以外地区。
Haiken calls that statistic misleading because the brand’s newest offering, the Polestar 4 coupe, went on sale in Europe in January 2024 but wasn’t available in the US until December 2025. 海肯称这一统计数据具有误导性，因为该品牌最新的产品——极星 4 轿跑车于 2024 年 1 月在欧洲上市，但直到 2025 年 12 月才在美国发售。
Some Polestar dealerships handle service issues through Volvo centers, but Haiken said his stand-alone Polestar service center will continue fixing and servicing the EVs. “We have the volume to justify it,” he says. “We have to be around to perform that work.” Not all dealerships might make the same decision, he said, though vehicles will likely be sent to the closest service center for tune-ups and fixes. 一些极星经销店通过沃尔沃中心处理售后问题，但海肯表示，他独立的极星服务中心将继续维修和保养这些电动汽车。“我们的业务量足以支撑这一点，”他说，“我们必须留下来完成这项工作。”他表示，并非所有经销店都会做出同样的决定，尽管车辆很可能会被送往最近的服务中心进行调试和维修。
Polestar spokesperson Mike Ofiara wrote in a statement that Polestar “greatly values our retail partners and is working closely with them to manage this transition.” 极星发言人迈克·奥菲亚拉（Mike Ofiara）在一份声明中写道，极星“非常重视我们的零售合作伙伴，并正在与他们密切合作以管理这一过渡。”
Unlike the electric vehicle company Fisker, which went bankrupt in 2024 and stranded owners without service and parts, Polestar still exists in other countries. It should still be able to (and indeed, is legally obligated to) support its vehicles. 与 2024 年破产并导致车主面临无处维修、无件可换困境的电动汽车公司 Fisker 不同，极星在其他国家依然存在。它理应（实际上也有法律义务）继续为其车辆提供支持。
For now, Haiken says working with Chinese connected tech doesn’t make him nervous. “I’m all about national security,” he says. “I’m also for tech and innovation and having the absolute best product win.” 目前，海肯表示，使用中国联网技术并不会让他感到不安。“我非常重视国家安全，”他说，“但我也支持技术和创新，并希望最好的产品能够胜出。”