What if the Traverse 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 Traverse 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 Traverse 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.

Chevrolet Traverse from the USA — 0% duty or 10%

US-assembled Chevrolet Traverse cars usually reach us from the plant in Lansing - Delta Township. 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 Chevrolet Traverse assembled?

The Chevrolet Traverse 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 - Delta Township	United States	1GN	37,163	0% duty
Lansing-Delta Township	United States	1GN	7,677	0% duty
Lansing	United States	1GN	2,098	0% duty
Springhill	United States	1GN	1,637	0% duty
Lansing - Delta Twp	United States	1GN	497	0% duty
Wentzville	United States	1GN	2	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 Traverse with American assembly that is usually 1GN. 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?

The gap is 10% of customs value, plus a side effect: 23% VAT is charged on the value with duty added, so a zero rate also lowers the tax base. On a Traverse assembled outside the USA neither effect fires. Work the result out in the calculator — the rates are fixed, the customs value is not.

Work out the import cost

What the import cost is made of

Three tax lines and one variable. Duty follows the assembly country of your Traverse: 0% for an American line, 10% for any other. Excise goes by engine size — 3.1% or 18.6%. VAT at 23% is worked out last, on customs 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

Zero-duty paperwork is our half of the job. We read the assembly plant from production data, prepare the customs declaration and deal with the agency on your behalf. You pick a Traverse and bid — we run the procedure.

What to watch for when buying at auction

Risk on a Chevrolet Traverse from auction sits in three places: the extent of the damage, the completeness of the paperwork and the history of earlier repairs. None of them touches the duty rate, which follows the assembly country alone, but all three decide what getting the car roadworthy really costs.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	24,627
Rear end	7,235
Side	6,797

From the USA or from Europe?

You go to the States for choice and for versions never sold in Europe. On that side of the bill you add transport, clearance and post-damage repair; pulling the other way is 0% duty on Traverse cars from American lines. Decide after the VIN check, not before it.

See current listings: Chevrolet Traverse