What if the LEAF 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 LEAF 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 LEAF 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.

Where the Nissan LEAF is assembled

Our database holds 6,487 Nissan LEAF cars with an American assembly plant on record. Those clear at 0%, the rest at 10% — one model name, two different rates. Before you set a bidding limit, check which line the car you are looking at came off.

Where is the Nissan LEAF assembled?

Most zero-rated LEAF cars come from the plant in Smyrna (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
Smyrna	United States	1N4	5,540	0% duty
Smyma	United States	1N4	947	0% duty
Yokosuka	Japan	JN1	628	10%
Kamikamou, Kaminokawa, Kawachi District	Japan	JN1	5	10%

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

The check runs on the VIN, not on the auction description. You enter the number of a Nissan LEAF and you get the assembly plant plus whether the origin condition is met. The lot description, the seller's country and the yard location say nothing about where the car was built.

How much will you save?

The saving is a percentage, so it grows with the value of the car. A Nissan LEAF from an American plant comes in at 0% instead of 10%, and lower duty shrinks the 23% VAT base. Excise stays: 3.1% on smaller engines, 18.6% on larger ones. The calculator does the rest.

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 LEAF 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

You put nothing together yourself. We check the origin of the car by VIN, prepare the papers and run the clearance; if the production data points to assembly outside the USA, we declare it at 10% so the bill does not change when you come to collect.

What to watch for when buying at auction

An auction description talks about damage, not about origin, and the other way round. A LEAF 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	3,503
Rear end	1,004
Side	885

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 LEAF 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: Nissan LEAF