Today, the auto business is an attractive field for many entrepreneurs. Why is it so? People always need to move around, and the most convenient option for this is cars. Manufacturers from all over the world sell their vehicles to different countries, thereby increasing profits. It is especially profitable to sell cars in the EU, because it is 27 countries with a population of more than 470 million people.
However, you can't just bring your cars to European countries and start selling them. To do this, you must obtain the appropriate authorization and pass the vehicle testing. In this article, we will tell you more about what a WVTA certificate is and where you can get one.
WVTA certificate – what is it?
WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type-Approval) is a special certificate that ensures that a vehicle meets the necessary requirements, is safe and suitable for general use in the EU.
Now we propose to take a closer look at how this works in real life. As you may know, the European Union is a union of many countries, both economically and politically. However, each member country has its own laws and rules. This is why the EU uses harmonization, where a single solution is created for all countries. So it is with car exports - once you get a WVTA certificate once, you can use it in all EU countries.
We should note that before September 1, 2020, the rules for passing vehicle testing looked a little different than they do today. The rules were changed to increase control, make the tests independent and eliminate corruption. You can see what the current WVTA certification regulations look like here. Here's a look at the pros of this certification:
Access to the vehicle market of any EU country.
No need to retest in each new country.
No need to retest until regulations change or the vehicle design changes.
Another advantage we want to talk about in this article is the different types of vehicles. Do you produce small coupes, family SUVs or huge trucks? It doesn't matter at all because categories A, B, C, D and others fit here.
Why do you need a WVTA certificate?
We would like to point out at once that if you are an individual and you want to bring a car from another country, you will not need such a certificate. In this case, you need to know all the nuances and peculiarities of customs clearance of the car.
WVTA certificate is about something more. It is required for car manufacturers and distributors who want to sell their vehicles in EU countries. The authorities need to be sure that your car meets all the norms and is safe for both people and the environment in general. This is why the car must pass a number of tests, including exhaust emissions tests, crash tests, driving in extreme conditions, software and more. The WVTA certificate allows you not to undergo such tests in every EU country, but just to do it once.
Foreign holdings bring in units of test cars, which are tested in European conditions. In order to get a complete picture and prepare all WVTA criteria, the cars are test-driven for 12 months on European roads, where they are later sent back to the country of origin. In simple words, the cars arrive on return import, which helps to save by refunding VAT 20-25%, as well as customs duties about which we wrote below in the article.
Chinese cars and WVTA certificate
It is no secret that in the last few years, the automotive market has been experiencing a real «boom» on the part of China. Statistics show that China is the leader in the production of electric cars and in simple words, is out of competition. In general, the leadership of this country in the creation of electric cars is due to high tariffs and taxes on goods made from oil. This is what made them switch to eco-friendly transportation, producing and exporting them to other countries, including the European Union.
This trend of Chinese cars that run on battery and electric motor is becoming more and more popular in western countries - Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, etc. However, as we said today, you can't just export vehicles to the EU for further sales. That is why Chinese manufacturers must also obtain a certificate of compliance with European standards. Moreover, not only passenger cars are in demand, but also trucks. For example, back in 2022, SANY made sure to get a European vehicle certificate (WVTA) to sell its truck mixer in all European countries. Thus, it became the first Chinese electric truck to receive WVTA certification.
Newly introduced EU duties for Chinese cars
As we said above, Chinese electric cars have turned the European vehicle market upside down. The fact is that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China are subsidized (supplied at underpriced prices), thus causing great economic damage to European countries. This has become a big problem, so the top leadership of the European Union started an investigation and came to these conclusions:
We propose to read the current opinion of the European Commission to better understand what we are going to talk about next.
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Let us examine this case in more detail on the example of the Geely automobile company. Many people are well aware that this is a huge holding company registered in China. It officially owns such brands as Geely Auto, Lynk & Co, Zeekr, Geometry, Volvo Cars, Polestar, Proton, Lotus, London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC), Farizon Auto and others. All of these cars can vary in features and type, including gasoline, diesel, hybrid and all-electric. It is this factor that affects the final tax rate when importing vehicles into Europe.
Import duties | These are standard duties that apply to imports from non-EU countries. In the case of Chinese cars, the rate is usually 10%. |
Anti-subsidy duties | This is a new type of duty that the EU introduced after an investigation into subsidies on BEV cars from China. The rate depends on the category of the vehicle. |
VAT | Typically, VAT is between 20 and 25% on cars from other countries. |
Additional charges | This includes various environmental, recycling fees or even local taxes. |
With such innovations, issued on October 29, the European authorities are trying to return the local manufacturers to a level playing field in the consumer market. You can find out more information about the new import rates for Chinese electric cars and details of the investigation here.
Example of calculating customs costs when importing a car from China
For many people, it can be confusing how the new system with anti-subsidy duties works. That's why we decided to make an approximate miscalculation that you can use depending on the specific car. As a basis, we take the BEV electric car from Geely from China. Its cost is estimated at 30 thousand euros, and we import it to Poland.
Import duties. The rate is 10% of the value of the car (30,000). As a result, it turns out that you will have to pay 3,000 euros.
Anti-subsidy duties. If the subsidy is 18.8%, then this type of duty will also be 15%. In our case, it will come out 5 640 euros anti-subsidy duty.
VAT. The calculation formula is as follows: (30 000 + 3 000 + 5 640) * 23.8%. In our case, the VAT comes out to 8,887.2 euros.
*Please note that this rate applies only to BEV cars, so plug-in and internal combustion type cars the rate remains unchanged.
If we add all the duties and taxes together, we will get 17,5 thousand euros. This is the customs costs when importing a Chinese BEV electric car into Europe with a price of 30 thousand euros. Sometimes additional fees may apply, so in your case the calculation may be slightly different. For this reason, the average cost on an invoice for a car that is imported into the EU is 12 thousand euros.
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Where can you get a WVTA certificate in 2024?
Now that you know more about WVTA certification, another question you may have is where to get tested. Since the EU is a large association of different countries, there are several places where you can be tested. It all depends on the country in which you want to undergo automobile testing.
For example, you can get tested in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and other countries. The body that will be responsible for the test is appointed by the EU country and passes the information to the Commission. Here you can see the names of the institutions, addresses and telephone numbers depending on the type of vehicle:
The vehicle manufacturer should also be aware of the need for a certificate of conformity. If you want to import and sell your vehicles in the EU, you must declare that your vehicles are fully compliant with EU requirements.
Is a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) required?
The vehicle manufacturer should also be aware of the need for a certificate of conformity. If you want to import and sell your vehicles in the EU, you must declare that your vehicles are fully compliant with EU requirements. If you don't already know what a certificate of conformity is, let's find out together.
In simple words, this is an official document that confirms that the vehicle is suitable according to the requirements set. The European Union has a whole list of requirements for vehicle manufacturers. They must be complied with if you want your cars to be sold legally in Europe. First, the car is tested by the relevant services - safety, emissions and other aspects are checked. If the vehicle meets the EU norms and standards, a final certificate of conformity (CoC) is issued.
Do you want to import new cars from China and other countries to the territory of the European Union? Trust this matter to experienced agents from aksis. Our experience and knowledge of legal aspects in the context of customs procedures will allow us to provide you with an individual solution. Contact us in any convenient way for a consultation!
