Since when has the customs preference applied?

Since 2026-07-01, under the EU–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade. It covers passenger cars finally assembled in the United States. Cars from plants in other countries keep clearing at 10%, whatever the market they were bought on and whoever sold them.

Does the model year change the assembly country?

Sometimes it does. Manufacturers move production between plants partway through a generation, so a CT5 from two different model years can carry a different assembly country. That is why the rate is set for a VIN and not for a model name.

Does mechanical condition affect duty?

No. A damaged CT5 clears at the same rate as an intact car from the same plant, because what counts is the country of final assembly. Condition does affect the purchase price, and through it the customs value and the taxes charged on it.

How long does a VIN check take?

A matter of seconds. You enter the number and get the country and city of the assembly plant plus the answer to whether that CT5 meets the condition for the customs preference. The check is free, needs no account and can be repeated for every lot you consider.

Does a sale in the USA mean assembly in the USA?

No. American sales also move cars built in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. Where a car was auctioned has nothing to do with the origin condition, which is why the assembly plant of a CT5 is checked separately, on the VIN.

Cadillac CT5 from the USA — 0% duty or 10%

US-assembled Cadillac CT5 cars usually reach us from the plant in Lansing. If your car came off that line, duty is 0% instead of 10%; if it came from a plant in another country, the preference does not apply. The split runs by single VIN, not by model.

Where is the Cadillac CT5 assembled?

The Cadillac CT5 comes out of plants that do not always sit in the same country, and those plants set the rate. A car from an American line enters the EU at 0%, a car from a plant elsewhere at 10%. Every row here is built from real cars in our database, not from a manufacturer's plan.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Lansing	United States	1G6	914	0% duty
Lansing - Grand River	United States	1G6	750	0% duty

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

The quickest filter is the first three characters of the number — on a CT5 with American assembly that is usually 1G6. A filter is not proof, though: we check the plant tied to the full VIN, because only that answers the condition. The check runs in seconds and costs nothing.

How much will you save?

EU–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade strips 10% of duty from cars finally assembled in the States and has applied since 2026-07-01. For a CT5 that meets the condition, what is left on the bill is excise (3.1% or 18.6%) and 23% VAT. What that means for your car is a calculator job; here you get the rates.

Work out the import cost

What the import cost is made of

The structure is the same for every car and only the first line differs. A CT5 off an American line comes in at 0% duty, a car outside the preference at 10%; after that comes excise by engine size (3.1% or 18.6%) and 23% VAT. Customs value follows the hammer price and transport.

Component	Rate
Duty — car assembled in the USA	0%
Duty — everything else	10%
Excise	3.1% up to 2.0 l, 18.6% above 3.5 l
VAT	23%

Rates, not amounts — the calculator works the sum out on current data.

Zero-duty paperwork — our job

We handle customs from the auction to the registration desk. A CT5 with an American plant is declared under the preference in force since 2026-07-01, the rest at the standard 10% duty. Which documents are needed follows from the car's data, not from the seller's description.

What to watch for when buying at auction

Before you raise your bid, look at the damaged area. On a CT5 it is most often features.lots.characteristics.damage_type.front_end, and then the key question is whether the body structure was disturbed. Origin is a separate check, run on the VIN — the two things are independent of each other.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	868
Side	232
Rear end	197

From the USA or from Europe?

Europe hands you a car ready to register; the States hand you a wider choice of versions and of damaged cars. On a CT5 origin joins the list: a car assembled in the USA clears at 0%, one from outside the preference at 10%. That is the first thing to check when you compare offers.

See current listings: Cadillac CT5