What if the Astro came off a line in Canada?

Then the car does not use the preference and enters the EU at 10% duty. Canada and Mexico are the most common source of confusion, because cars from there reach sales in the States on equal terms with cars of American production.

Does zero duty also lower VAT?

Indirectly. VAT at 23% is charged on customs value with duty added, so 0% instead of 10% shrinks the tax base. Excise is worked out separately by engine size and comes to 3.1% or 18.6% either way.

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 Astro 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 Astro 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.

Does a Chevrolet Astro qualify for zero duty

American assembly covers 98% of the Astro cars in our database, and their numbers open with 1G8. That helps you sift listings, but the 0% rate cannot be pinned to a model — only the plant read for one specific VIN says whether the car meets the origin condition.

Where is the Chevrolet Astro assembled?

Production of the Chevrolet Astro is often spread across continents, which is why the question of where it is built has several answers at once. For duty, only the country of the plant your car came off matters: the States mean 0%, any other country 10%. Model history and target market change nothing.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Baltimore/Lansing (Craft Center)	United States	1GB, 1GC, 1GN	899	0% duty
Baltimore	United States	1G8, 1GB, 1GC, 1GN	28	0% duty
Pontiac	United States	1GN	1	0% duty

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

Type in the VIN of your Astro and we read the country and city of the assembly plant from the manufacturer's data. A plant in the States means the car qualifies for 0% duty; any other country means 10%. Do it before you bid, because the rate moves the sensible limit.

How much will you save?

Run it down both routes, because the Astro exists on both: a car from an American line at 0% duty, a car from a plant outside the USA at 10%. The rest of the bill is identical — excise by engine size and 23% VAT. The calculator shows both versions from the same inputs.

Work out the import cost

What the import cost is made of

The bill is made of a few fixed percentages and one variable, which is the customs value of the car. Duty is 0% on a Astro assembled in the USA and 10% on the rest, excise is 3.1% or 18.6% by engine size, and 23% VAT is charged on the value with duty and excise added.

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

Our customs agency handles the formalities. We gather the assembly data for the Chevrolet Astro, prepare the declaration and see the clearance through. The rate finally granted is the customs office's decision, taken on the documents submitted.

What to watch for when buying at auction

An auction description talks about damage, not about origin, and the other way round. A Astro with a wrecked front can be assembled in the USA and come in at 0%, while an untouched car from the same sale comes from Mexico and pays 10%. Check both separately.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	325
Side	159
Normal wear	108

From the USA or from Europe?

The key difference is procedural rather than a matter of badge. A car from the European market goes through no import, a car from the States does — and then the assembly country counts: an American line means 0%, any other 10%, with excise and 23% VAT on top. For a Astro, the check starts at the VIN.

See current listings: Chevrolet Astro