UK Car Shipping to New Zealand

Cost of Shipping a Car from the UK to New Zealand (Nelson, Auckland, Lyttelton, Wellington)

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 New Zealand (Nelson, Auckland, Lyttelton, Wellington).

Approximate — call for the latest rates. These are indicative shipping rates from our published rate table for Auckland, Hamilton, Lyttelton, Napier. They move with the market and with the vehicle, and a full export quote covers the UK-side work listed below as well, so treat them as a guide rather than a final price. See the full rate table or ask us for an itemised quote.

What a full export quote covers

• 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

Not covered

• 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 New Zealand

Our New Zealand sailings discharge at Nelson, Auckland, Lyttelton and Wellington. At Auckland the car carriers work Ports of Auckland's multi-cargo wharves, Bledisloe, Freyberg, Jellicoe, Marsden and Captain Cook, where RoRo ships importing cars are unloaded and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has inspection services on site. The current schedule has RoRo sailings with Höegh Autoliners and Wallenius Wilhelmsen and container sailings with MSC, the containers transhipped on the way. New Zealand drives on the left, so a UK car's steering is on the right side for its roads.

Biosecurity comes first. MPI's import health standard for vehicles, machinery and parts requires a used vehicle to arrive clean inside and out, and MPI inspects used cars outside and in when they land. A car it cannot verify as clean can be partly or fully dismantled and cleaned at the importer's expense, so have it cleaned thoroughly, underbody and wheel arches included, before it leaves the UK. An NZTA-approved border inspection then records the VIN, checks which side the steering is on and photographs any structural damage, and it has to be completed before the car can leave the customs-controlled area at the port. Customs has a concession for people moving to New Zealand: more than 21 months abroad, the car owned and used for at least a year, and an undertaking to repay the duty and GST if the car is sold within two years.

Entry certification follows at a certifier appointed by NZTA, which checks the safety and emissions standards and proof of ownership and issues the registration papers. For a UK car the log book does much of the work: NZTA accepts a V5C or certificate of permanent export showing first registration as new in the UK on or after 1 October 2007 as proof of Euro 4, on or after 1 January 2011 as Euro 5 and on or after 1 January 2015 as Euro 6d-TEMP or lower, while a European whole-vehicle approval plate or a place on NZTA's compliant-vehicle list covers the frontal impact standard. Cars more than 20 years old are exempt from both standards, as is an immigrant's vehicle that you owned and registered abroad for at least a year. Before registration the importer, private buyers included, opens a Clean Car Standard CO2 account and pays a charge or receives a credit according to the car's CO2 figure.

On the UK side we source the car, arrange tax-free supply from the selling dealer where it qualifies, collect it, complete UK export clearance and the DVLA paperwork, and see it loaded. Sailings leave from London Gateway, Southampton, Liverpool, Felixstowe, Bristol and Newcastle. The full V5C travels with the car, less the permanent export section that goes to DVLA. In New Zealand we can arrange the MPI and border inspections, entry certification, 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 New Zealand 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 New Zealand 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 New Zealand: we find a dealer that runs the scheme and ship the car when you are ready. How the scheme works.