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 Element 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 Element 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.

Where the Honda Element is assembled

US-assembled Honda Element cars usually reach us from the plant in East Liberty. 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 Honda Element assembled?

Production of the Honda Element 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
East Liberty	United States	5J6	6,583	0% duty

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

Enter the VIN and compare the result: if you see the East Liberty plant, that Element came off an American line and qualifies for the 0% rate. Another plant means 10%, with no exceptions for version, equipment or model year. The check is free and needs no account.

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 Element 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 structure is the same for every car and only the first line differs. A Element 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

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 Element and bid — we run the procedure.

What to watch for when buying at auction

An auction description talks about damage, not about origin, and the other way round. A Element 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	3,018
Rear end	895
Side	731

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

See current listings: Honda Element