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 Breeze 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 Breeze 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.

How long does a VIN check take?

A matter of seconds. You enter the number and get the country and city of the assembly plant plus the answer to whether that Breeze meets the condition for the customs preference. The check is free, needs no account and can be repeated for every lot you consider.

Plymouth Breeze from the Sterling Heights plant and 0% duty

EU–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade has applied since 2026-07-01 and cuts duty to 0% for cars finally assembled in the States. The Plymouth Breeze meets that condition only in the cars genuinely built at an American plant; the rest clear at 10%. Verification runs on the VIN, not on the version name.

Where is the Plymouth Breeze assembled?

The split shows in the data: 56 Breeze cars reached us with an American assembly plant, the rest came from plants in other countries. The first group qualifies for 0% duty, the second for 10%. The counts cover every car recorded in our database, not the current offer.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Sterling Heights	United States	1P3	56	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 Breeze with American assembly that is usually 1P3. 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?

Run it down both routes, because the Breeze 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 Breeze 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

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 Breeze and bid — we run the procedure.

What to watch for when buying at auction

Risk on a Plymouth Breeze 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	18
Side	9
Normal wear	8

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 Breeze 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: Plymouth Breeze