Citroen wins case against Polestar
But Polestar not selling in France yet
Ever notice the similarity between the Citroën double-chevron grille badge and the logo of the new electrified brand Polestar? We hadn’t either, but Citroën, along with a Parisian court, has decided that they’re a little bit too close together.
Polestar’s logo is supposed to look like, well, one of the earth’s Pole stars. It’s two chevrons meeting in the center, clocked sideways, and looking a little bit like how you might draw a star in the sky. Citroën’s logo, on the other hand, was picked by founder Andre Citroën more than 100 years ago because it looked like the gears he sold before making cars.
Citroen C1 | Photo: Citroen
French publication L’Automobile reported on news of the ruling, saying that Polestar might have a tough time entering the French market as a result.
Try to access the Polestar site in France, the report says, and you’ll get an error message saying it’s not accessible because it violates the use of two French brands.
From outside of the country, you can choose French language sites for both Belgium and Switzerland, but there is no France regional site at this time.
The court in Paris, said the report, fined Polestar 150,000 euros (CAD 231,100) and ordered the brand to stop using the logo in France for six months. It’s not a great verdict for Polestar, but since the brand doesn’t sell vehicles there, and hasn’t announced any plans to open a Polestar Space in France, there may not be much of an issue. At least not for a while.
