Does a Caravan get zero duty?

It depends on the car. The preference covers cars finally assembled in the States, and the Caravan is also produced outside the USA. Type in the VIN and we read the country and city of the assembly plant, so you see whether this car meets the 0% condition.

Is a VIN prefix enough to establish the rate?

No. The first three characters point to the manufacturer and the country, but one prefix can cover several plants. The rate needs the country of final assembly tied to the full number, and that is exactly the reading you get after entering a VIN.

What if the Caravan 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.

Dodge Caravan from the USA — 0% duty or 10%

Q: Where is the Dodge Caravan assembled?

We read plants from the production data of cars that have passed through our database, so the list shows the real origin of individual cars rather than a manufacturer's plan. One model can have plants on two continents, which is why the country is checked for a specific VIN.

US-assembled Dodge Caravan cars usually reach us from the plant in Fenton. 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 Dodge Caravan assembled?

Most zero-rated Caravan cars come from the plant in Fenton (United States). Plants in other countries build this model too, and their cars clear at 10%. We read the plant from the production data of a single VIN, so the answer covers one car rather than the whole family.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Fenton	United States	1B4, 1B7, 1B8, 1D4, 1D8	2,662	0% duty
Windsor	Canada	2B4, 2B7, 2B8, 2D4, 2D8	1,592	10%
Windsor	United States	2B4, 2B8	463	0% duty
St. Louis	United States	1B4, 1B7	10	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 Caravan with American assembly that is usually 1B4. 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 zero rate works in two places at once: 10% of duty disappears and the base for 23% VAT falls with it. That is why the difference across the whole bill on a US-assembled Caravan is larger than duty alone. The result follows customs value, so put yours into the calculator.

Work out the import cost

What the import cost is made of

The cost of importing a Dodge Caravan splits into rates you know in advance and a customs value you do not. Fixed: duty at 0% or 10%, excise at 3.1% or 18.6% by engine size, VAT at 23%. Variable: the purchase price, transport and port charges.

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 Dodge Caravan, 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 Caravan 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	1,154
Side	494
Rear end	458

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 Caravan cars from American lines. Decide after the VIN check, not before it.

See current listings: Dodge Caravan