Does a Passat get zero duty?

It depends on the car. The preference covers cars finally assembled in the States, and the Passat 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 Passat 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.

Volkswagen Passat: where the car was built and what it pays

Q: Where is the Volkswagen Passat 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.

Our database holds 30,179 Volkswagen Passat 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 Volkswagen Passat assembled?

The split shows in the data: 30,179 Passat 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
Chattanooga	United States	1VW	30,179	0% duty
Mosel	Germany	WVW	1,234	10%
Emden	Germany	WVW	1,210	10%
Brussels	Belgium	WVW	4	10%
Neckarsulm	Germany	WAU	1	10%

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 Passat with American assembly that is usually 1VW. 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 Passat 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 Passat 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

We handle customs from the auction to the registration desk. A Passat with an American plant is declared under the preference in force since 2026-07-01, the rest at the standard 10% duty. Which documents are needed follows from the car's data, not from the seller's description.

What to watch for when buying at auction

The most common damage on a Passat in our database is features.lots.characteristics.damage_type.front_end, so start the photos and the report there. Repairing that area can eat the whole advantage of 0% instead of 10%, which is why you count it together with duty rather than separately.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	15,887
Side	4,283
Rear end	3,795

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

See current listings: Volkswagen Passat