Currently reading: Polestar logo temporarily banned in France over Citroen similarity

French court finds Swedish brand's logo potentially confusing for consumers

A French court has temporarily banned Polestar from using its logo in France, after a three-year legal wrangle over the logo's alleged resemblance to that of Citroën ended in the French marque's favour.

Official court documents from 2017 show that Citroën's parent company, the PSA Group, asked Volvo to stop using Polestar's logo, which comprises a pair of chevrons arranged in a cross motif. It argued that the logo resembles Citroën's 121-year-old double chevron emblem and - by association - the similarly styled logo of premium offshoot DS

Volvo refused to comply, claiming the logos were not similar, before Citroën took the claim to the European Intellectual Property Office but was unsuccessful in its attempt to prove the two logos' similarities. 

Now, a French court has sided with Citroën, ordering Polestar to pay €150,000 (£135,000) to the French brand - 0.05% of what it spends annually on advertising in France - in addition to €70,000 (£63,000) in legal fees. Polestar was also prevented from using its logo in France for six months from the issuing of the court order in July 2020. 

It is unclear what this means for a potential roll-out of the electric performance brand in France, but a Polestar spokesperson told Autocar: "Polestar does not operate in France and we currently have no plans to operate in France. There is an ongoing legal case in France concerning the use of the Polestar logo, initiated by Citroën. 

"Whilst we cannot comment on the details of the case, we strongly believe in the position of our brand and logo. We recognise that as a new, exciting car brand on the market with ambitious plans to raise the profile of electric mobility, we may gather attention from established auto makers. 

"The case only relates to France and does not apply to any other countries."

Polestar was originally launched in 2009 as Polestar Performance, a performance sub-brand of Volvo. Its current logo was introduced in 2017 when the brand was hived off as a stand-alone maker of electrified performance cars.

Autocar has contacted Citroën UK for comment. 

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Felix Page
Title: Deputy editor

Felix is Autocar's deputy editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

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Comments
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cambuster 12 November 2020

Typical Chinese. Copy everything except..........

........democracy

WinstonAlexanderson 11 November 2020

Chinese Volvo

Well, politics aside. If you are referring to citroens DS logo then yes there is a similarity. Most of us wouldn't confuse them, but people who are not into cars could get it wrong. I say the more banning of chinese companies making sub par vehicles that put our lives in danger, the better. I take my hat off to France, hope they ban the company all together.
martin_66 11 November 2020

Well said

WinstonAlexanderson wrote:

Well, politics aside. If you are referring to citroens DS logo then yes there is a similarity. Most of us wouldn't confuse them, but people who are not into cars could get it wrong. I say the more banning of chinese companies making sub par vehicles that put our lives in danger, the better. I take my hat off to France, hope they ban the company all together.

 

I couldn't agree more.  It is actually quite difficult to get worked up about a chinese company not being able to sell their cars in France.

405line 10 November 2020

French objection history

When Porsche presented the vehicle at the Paris Motor Show in October of that year, the French car manufacturer Peugeot objected to the model designation. The reason: Peugeot had patented a three-digit type designation with a zero in the middle. Porsche therefore renamed the 901 as the 911.

martin_66 10 November 2020

Not quite the same thing

405line wrote:

When Porsche presented the vehicle at the Paris Motor Show in October of that year, the French car manufacturer Peugeot objected to the model designation. The reason: Peugeot had patented a three-digit type designation with a zero in the middle. Porsche therefore renamed the 901 as the 911.

it doesn't quite prove a history of French objection.  Peugeot were quite right to object. Using exactly the same name that a company has already patented is very different to using a logo that only looks similar to another company's if you were to prise the logo off a car's boot and then rearrange it so it looked completely different.

rockingh0rse 23 September 2023

And why would anyone want to make their Volvo look like a Citroen?!

Sorry. I can't see what the fuss is about.