Citroen blocks sales of Polestar brand in France | French.pl

The origin of Polestar dates back to 1996, when Polestar Racing was founded – the official Volvo racing team. The company is also responsible for the Swedish manufacturer’s sports car offerings, and since 2017 has become a separate brand that produces sports cars and hybrid and electric vehicles. Volvo used the same mechanism as Citroen and the brand DS cars, which originally served as the luxury chevron range of cars. Two models of the brand have already started on the market: Polestar 1 and Polestar 2, but the possibility of importing cars in France is restricted. All because of Citroen and the dispute over the logo.

Citroen decided that the star that the Swedish manufacturer chose for the logo was very similar to the chevrons. Similarities can also be found in the logo of DS Automobiles. Polestar has been forced to stop selling its models in France and customers are being sent back empty-handed. Even after logging in Manufacturer’s French website we will give up. We will only see the message: “Access to the Polestar website is not available for French customers due to regional restrictions on the use of French brands 016898173 and 01689532.” These brands are Citroen and DS Automobiles.

The token fight has been going on for months. Citroen filed the lawsuit in July 2019. The court ruled that Polestar Performance damaged the reputation of French brands. Therefore, the Swedish manufacturer must pay a compensation of €150,000 and stop using its logo in France for six months.