Polestar is forced to temporarily stop selling its models in France following a complaint from Citroen. The Polestar logo is too similar to Double Chevron, according to the French brand.
With an electric sports crossover and the Polestar 2, Polestar has ambitious plans for a “huge piece of the pie” in the European EV segment. According to French media, it has become much more difficult for the premium brand Volvo to succeed in selling in France.
Citroën and Polestar have been at war with each other in France for a while. In the middle of last year, Citroën sued Polestar in France. According to the French automaker, the Polestar logo is too similar to Citroen’s “double chevron” and could damage its branding. Citroën also believes the Polestar logo has too much in common with the DS logo.
As it became known, the court first dismissed Citroën’s claim for infringement of trademark rights in June this year, justifying its decision on the fact that there are too few similarities between the logos, and the products sold by manufacturers are aimed at an informed public that will not get confused in the logos. However, the court later ruled in Citroën’s favor, citing Polestar’s potential impact on the Citroën logo. Polestar will have to pay damages to Citroën in the amount of 150,000 euros and freeze sales in France for 6 months.
The French Polestar website is currently blocked. Visitors to the page are welcomed by the following message: “The Polestar website is not available in France due to regional restrictions on the use of French trademarks.” After half a year, Polestar will be allowed to sell cars in France.
