Importing a car into China – is it worth it?
We at China Car Times get asked this question a lot, usually from people who are planning to spend a few years living in the PRC and want to bring their baby with them. The market selection of cars in China is somewhat slim, there are no 2 seater coupes yet (unless you count the MGTF) there are no 600BHP American muscle cars for sale at car dealers, so you’re stuck with average run of the mill sedans, SUVs or mini cars, so its no wonder that some people want to bring their 1968 American muscle car into China. We’ll give you some tips on how to do it.
NOTE: This list is by no means a definiate article, we hope that China Car Times readers can correct us on this. Also it would be good to remember that China is a developing country, and there are always ways and means of doing something if you grease the right palms, so to speak.
- Classic cars – no chance. We are told the Chinese authorities will only give papers to a car that is under 20 years old. Commercial vehicles have a much less life span, although we are unsure as to how long this is.
- Right hand drive vehicles – also no chance. China drives on the right hand side of the road (steering wheel on the left, like the USA), and as a British citizen, I prefer it this way. Keep your right hand drive cars in your right hand drive countries please, the Chinese authorities will not allow them onto the roads. However, there are many Japanese imported sports cars here that have been imported, and have had the RHD to LHD conversion done.
- Electric cars – no chance, hybrids okay, but fully electric cars, you will have a hard time getting papers for legal road use.
- Import tax – Import tax is a funny issue, if you have a foreign experts certificate to say you are a foreign expert from the PRC government then you can import a car into China tax free for as long as you stay in China. Foreign expert cards are not exactly hard to come by, if you dont have one, a visa agency can probably sort one out for you, but then you’ll need documents from your company, your boss etc to prove you work for them, this may be harder to obtain. If you dont have any of the above documents, then you will be hit with a tax that varies from 37% to 47% of the vehicles value. Foreign companies setting up shop in China can import their own company vehicles tax free into China.
- Selling your car in China – We have heard conflicting things about this, we have been told that you cant sell your imported car and must take it with you when you leave, and that you can sell your car after six months of the car being in your name in China. Judging by the number of ‘one off’ cars (i.e. Yesterday we saw a first generation Ford Mondeo in China, as far as we know, that was never released here) we see driving around China, we’re guessing the latter is true – you can sell your car after six months, but we are unsure of the procedures that you need to go through.
- Shipping – Before your baby is even shipped, it will need to be checked for safety (i.e. empty fuel tank etc etc) by a customs official from which ever country you are shipping it from, this can be costly. Also once its arrived in China, it will need another inspection (not so costly)
- Ports – Only a few ports in China can accept incoming cars – we believe these are Tianjin, Dalian, Shanghai, and perhaps Shenzhen but we are not so sure about Shenzhen
- Hong Kong and Macau cars – they can have special plates fitted just for the day trip across the border, and the same for Macau cars. We are unsure if RHD cars from Hong Kong can legally go across the border into China
- Driving Licenses – You may well have a driving license from your respective country, but that doesnt mean anything in China and neither does the international driving license, China was never a signatory to the international driving license law and as such, they do not recognize it. If you want to drive in China, you must have a Chinese driving license, you get this from the police, nobody else. If someone offers to get you a Chinese driving license for a few thousand RMB (usually 1 to 4,000rmb) politely tell them no thanks, and visit the local cop shop, enquire as to how to get your license.
As mentioned earlier, this list is by no means 100% accurate, often different cities have different policies and its always best to check with the relevant authorities. I hope China Car Times readers can give some input in the comments section.
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
RSS Feed
…
I am moving to Beijing in October and am used to driving my BMW 750Li in the US. I am trying to figure out if it makes any sense to export my car to China and hire a driver locally. The drivers are cheap, I am more concerned about the actual cost of importing the car – does anyone know anything about this? Also, someone mentioned that the fuel they sell in China is not the same as in the US. Does that mean it is worse or better (like 95-98 octane in Germany for instance, where as we sell 89-93 octane in the US..)
Thanks in advance if anyone has any information…
Similar to Antti, I have just moved to Chengdu and would like to bring my Infinity FX35 to China.
The latest information that I have found is, you can import your own vehicle tax free if you have owned the vehicle for at least one year and you have a valid work permit in China and a foreign experts card.
I am off to Shanghai this afternoon to finalize my work permit, and plan to find out more information. If anyone has more up to date information, please send me an update.
P.S.: My Infinity requires Premium fuel and I have been running it on regular octain fuel and it runs good.
Cheers, Rory
Up until very recently, it was possible to import 2nd-hand cars from the US (after paying the applicable taxes). But I’ve been told that this has changed – going forward only new cars will be allowed into the country. I’m not exactly sure what classifies as “new” – is it based on total mileage, date of production, both, or … ?
As for the octane rating, it’s similar to Europe (ie- higher rating for the same grade, compared to the US). Most cars take 93, the more expensve cars take 97 (97 isn’t available in all areas).
Hello,
Does anyone knows the recent changes or current regulations for importing owned cars to China. I have been told by some moving companies that it is not longer possible except for diplomats.
Can anyone provide me further information/details?
Thanks
Im also interested to bring my car over too.
If anyone can help let me know ..
Is this the same for motorbikes?
After reading one Aussie’s comments about Americans make shit muscle cars, they can only dream in the land down under that they can produce Vipers/Vetts/Shelbys/Challengers etc. etc. producing 505bhp engines out of the factory…
Wanker keep dreaming with your Commodore 4 doors or 2 seater utes and fat sheilas too boot that look tougher then most men and can carry shit loads of grog on their heads to the races for their blokes….. so shut your cake hole drongo or shall I call you nong…. and get stuffed….
im a diplomat in beijing and will be here for three years so i want to buy a toyota camry from usa which is a second hand car and the model is 2008 ….
how can i import it to china …. do i have to pay for tax ?
can you help me out !!!!
I think the question is why you want to go through the hassle of doing this and paying more than just buying one here in China?
Are diplomats allowed to purchase local cars here for private use? Different govts may have different rules in place for staff.
For official use it should be fine but it will need a diplomatic plate and can only be on-sold later to another diplomat.
As Head Honcho said its much easier just to buy a locally made one.
@king
From the info provided, I assume the Camry is just for your family personal use only. An US spec Camry is a lot better and cheaper than a Chinese Camry. Do try to arrange the shipment and it worths the money spent. However, you should check if spare parts are the same used in China before hand. Otherwise you will have trouble in fixing. Your superior in Foreign Department should know the formalities in bringing cars from the US.
Don’t forget, your Chinese Camry maybe bugged for some reasons. Take cares!
Cars purchased here for diplomat use enjoy some tax breaks. Diplomat-plated cars can only be directly transferred to foreign entities (individuals as well as corporations) after the taxes have been repaid. After spending a year registered with a foreign entity it can then be transferred to a non-foreign entity.
At least this used to be the case – I don’t know if the rules have changed.
@hk – yes US spec Camry is cheaper, but it is most definitely not better. Have you been in a Chinese spec Camry? The Chinese Camry has much better external styling (it looks rather upscale, while the US spec just looks odd) and nicer interior finishes.
Haha Gerald, if you insist Chinese made Camry is better in quality than the US spec Camry, then I won’t argue with you. On the body styling, Chinese Camry is for company/business purpose while US Camry is for a family man. I do agree with you over this point.
I really don’t understand what respectable businessman would want to drive a womans car like a black Camry. How is it a business car?