UK Car Shipping to Ecuador

Cost of Shipping a Car from the UK to Ecuador (Manta, Guayaquil)

The total cost of shipping depends on the vehicle make, model and most importantly size. We work directly with all shipping lines in the UK to arrange regular and reliable vehicle exports from the UK to Ecuador (Manta, Guayaquil).

What is included in our price?

• Loading and lashing vehicle into ship
• UK customs export and clearance
• UK port handling charges
• DVLA documentation and export certification
• Export documentation (e.g. Bill of Lading)
• Posting of the Export Documents from UK by UPS/DHL
• Shipping of the vehicle from the UK to Destination Port

Our price excludes

• Pre-Export Inspection (if required)
• Marine Insurance (container only)
• Collection and/or delivery of the vehicle
• All destination country's import fees

Apart from import duty, taxes, port storage and demurrage at the destination, which the importer always pays, we can add any of these to your quotation, priced separately, along with customs clearance, registration and delivery to your door through a local agent.

Shipping to Ecuador

Ecuador's two arrival ports do different jobs. Manta, on the Pacific coast of Manabí province, is the country's main port for imported vehicles and takes about 95% of the new cars and RoRo cargo discharged in Ecuador. It is run by Terminal Portuario de Manta, which operates through the Chilean logistics group Agunsa and landed more than 67,000 imported vehicles there in 2025. Containers go further south to Guayaquil, where the Contecon Guayaquil terminal, part of the ICTSI group, has storage areas for imported vehicles waiting to be cleared. On the current schedule most RoRo sailings take 2-4 weeks and container sailings 5-6 weeks, because the containers change ship on the way.

The steering rule sits on top of a wider ban. Ecuador's foreign trade committee, COMEX, lists used vehicles among prohibited imports, so a used car cannot be shipped in for sale or for an ordinary buyer. The main exception for individuals is for Ecuadorians coming home. Under the Organic Law on Human Mobility and its regulation, a returning migrant over 18 who holds a Certificado de Migrante Retornado may bring one car as part of their household goods (menaje de casa); someone who was abroad only to study cannot. The car's model year must fall within the five years before import and its value within a cap of 80 basic unified salaries. It must have been owned in the migrant's or a family member's name before they arrived to settle, and shipped together with the rest of the household goods. A car bought as salvage is refused even if it has been repaired, and the benefit can be claimed only within 60 months of arrival and once in ten years.

Customs clearance is the work of the Servicio Nacional de Aduana del Ecuador (SENAE). The registration, or matrícula, is then issued by the Agencia Nacional de Tránsito or the municipal transit authority once the fees and taxes are paid, and proof of the compulsory SPPAT traffic-accident cover is needed before the car can be registered.

In the UK we source the car, arrange tax-free supply from the selling dealer where it qualifies, collect it, clear it through UK export customs and see it loaded for Manta and Guayaquil. Sailings leave from Liverpool, Felixstowe, London Gateway and Southampton. We can arrange customs clearance, registration and delivery to your door through a local agent, quoted separately, or work with an agent of your choice.

Documentation Required for Booking

• Car Registration Document (V5 or Logbook) and Vehicle Invoice (or value).
• ID (one government-issued photo ID and one utility bill showing address).

Payment Terms / Modes

• A £1,000 deposit secures a vehicle we source or buy for you. It is part of the price, not an extra fee. If you cancel, our terms and conditions say what is refunded.
• The balance is due in full, in cleared funds, before the vehicle is loaded, unless your quotation sets out different terms.
• Bank transfer preferred. Card payments up to £5,000, with no fee on personal debit or credit cards.
• Letters of credit, cheques, money orders and cash are not accepted.

Our Other Services

Car Sourcing and Buying on your behalf

Buying and exporting a car to Ecuador doesn't need to be stressful. UK Vehicle Exporters specialises in sourcing and exporting vehicles from the UK, with trusted shipping partners and support at every stage, from choosing the vehicle through to loading it onto the ship.

Tax-Free Vehicle Supply and UK VAT

UK Preferential Origin (Reduced Import Duty)

Some UK-built vehicles may qualify for reduced or zero import duty. That depends on the UK having a trade agreement with the destination country and on the car meeting that agreement's rules of origin. During your quote, we'll confirm whether the vehicle you're interested in qualifies.

VAT-free Supply of VAT-Qualifying (VATQ) Cars

A VAT-registered dealer can sell a new car, or a used car that carries VAT on its full price, free of UK VAT when it is exported and HMRC's conditions are met. Used cars of that kind are known in the trade as VAT-qualifying: typically ex-rental or ex-lease cars, where the hire or leasing company reclaimed the VAT when it bought them. On a VAT-inclusive price, the VAT is one-sixth. A used car sold under the second-hand margin scheme is different: VAT is due only on the dealer's margin, and HMRC does not let a dealer zero-rate it as an ordinary export. We are not VAT registered, so the saving comes off the dealer's price, not as a refund from us. We arrange the export to Ecuador and give the dealer the proof of export it needs.

HMRC's Personal Export Scheme (PES)

The Personal Export Scheme lets overseas visitors and UK residents who are leaving the UK, and will stay outside it with the car for at least six months, buy a car free of VAT and use it here before it is exported. Only VAT-registered businesses can operate the scheme, so you buy from a dealer that runs it. The car must leave within 12 months of delivery for an overseas visitor, or 6 months for a UK resident, or the VAT becomes payable. It can suit anyone relocating to Ecuador: we find a dealer that runs the scheme and ship the car when you are ready. How the scheme works.