How to import a Chinese electric car into Chile (2026)

CRAVEUO EV Export · Sources last checked 2026-10-30 · General information, not legal advice. We do not clear customs in Chile. Nothing here is a promise or a quote.

Quick answer

Chile takes new cars only. Used cars are banned by Article 21 of Law 18.483, with no exception for electric cars. The only exceptions are the few classes that article lists. Under the China FTA, duty is 0% if you hold a certificate of origin, the car reaches 40% regional value content and it travels direct; otherwise duty is 6%. IVA is 19%, and battery-electric cars are exempt from the green tax.

Key facts

New cars only

The law says: "sólo podrán importarse vehículos sin uso" (Law 18.483, Art. 21). The article lists these exceptions:

• Special-purpose vehicles such as ambulances, hearses, fire engines and motorhomes, used for something other than ordinary transport.
• Vehicles under the special customs regimes of Section 0 of the tariff, and vehicles with a full or partial duty exemption.
• Used trolleybuses with more than 18 seats. This is the only place the article mentions electric traction.
• Antique vehicles of 50 years or more, under Title XIX of Law 18.290.

Aduanas also describes two personal routes that allow a used car. Chilean adults returning for good after at least 18 months abroad may import one car and pay full tax, through a broker (Aduanas, 2022). People with a disability may use Law 20.422, with a COMPIN resolution (Aduanas). Neither is open to an ordinary buyer.

Article 21 does not mention free zones. We found no rule that lets an ordinary buyer bring a used car from a free zone into the rest of Chile.

What counts as new

Aduanas gives two tests (Q16).

• Model year. When the import declaration is accepted, the car must be a model of that year or the next. A model of the year before qualifies only if the declaration is accepted by 30 April of the following year.
• Distance. Zero kilometres, or only the distance needed to move the car from the foreign seller to the destination port in Chile.

By our reading, a declaration accepted in late 2026 needs a 2026 or 2027 model. A 2025 model stopped qualifying after 30 April 2026. A car already registered in China and exported as "zero-kilometre used" risks being treated as used. That last point is our inference; the Aduanas text does not mention China registration.

Duty under the China FTA

Chile's tariff schedule lists every line of heading 87.03 at a base rate of 6%, category "Year 1". Annex 1 defines that as duty-free from the day the agreement entered into force. The schedule uses older codes, from before the electric subheadings existed. All its passenger-car lines are "Year 1", so we read the newer lines as 0% too. We found no official line-by-line table for them.

To get the 0% (FTA text):

• Origin. At least 40% regional value content (Articles 15 and 17).
• Certificate of origin. Submitted at import, on the Annex 4 form, issued by the Chinese government authority, in English, one per shipment, valid one year from issue (Article 30). We found no official note on the current name of the issuing body.
• Direct transport. Any stop in a third country must not exceed three months (Article 27).

If the certificate is late, Article 31 allows a written statement at import and a later refund, within its time limits. We could not confirm whether the 2019 upgrade protocol changed these procedures. Ask your broker.

Battery-electric cars fall under tariff line 8703.8090. Non-plug-in hybrids are in 8703.40 and 8703.50, plug-in hybrids in 8703.60 and 8703.70. We did not find whether range-extender cars go in 8703.60 or 8703.80.

Green tax and yearly taxes

The green tax is paid once on new light and medium vehicles, by the person registering the car. A car cannot be registered until it is paid (Law 20.780, Art. 3; SII). The formula, where the sale price includes IVA:

`Tax in UTM = [(35 / urban km per litre) + (120 × g/km of NOx)] × (sale price × 0.00000006)`

The law exempts "vehículos a propulsión eléctrica". It does not mention hybrids.

• Non-plug-in hybrids. We read them as paying by the formula.
• Plug-in hybrids. We found no official text. DS 145 defines a rechargeable hybrid separately from an electric vehicle, which suggests they are not exempt. That is our inference. Press pages say hybrids pay.
• Range-extender cars. Not found. Ask your broker before you order.

We did not find whether an exempt car needs a filing to show the exemption.

Circulation permit

The discount in Law 21.505 follows a fixed calendar from 1 February 2023, not the age of each car. It covers electric cars and plug-in hybrids made in 2021 or later. The law gives two years free, then 25% of the tax for two years, 50% for two, 75% for two. SII Resolution 6/2026 applied a 75% exemption for 2026, and Emol reported on 27 Jan 2026 that the charge moves to 50% in 2027. By our count:

Tax example

This uses a CIF value of USD 30,000 as an example, not a price. It holds for a battery-electric car. A hybrid may add green tax.

A CIF value already includes freight and insurance. Not included: broker, port and storage, homologation, registration and inland transport.

Homologation

There are two routes.

• Model homologation (ChileAtiende 7). For manufacturers, assemblers, importers or their representatives selling a model. A CHI-e is then issued for each car. The 3CV gives results within 10 working days of receiving the vehicle.
• Individual homologation (ChileAtiende 3961). For new cars of the same model, imported by the same person, up to three a year, for use in the Metropolitana, Valparaíso or O'Higgins regions. For other regions, the page asks for a special gas inspection and a SEREMI authorisation.

The individual route needs the application form, a copy of the import declaration, proof of emissions, proof of electric consumption, proof of safety equipment and a physical inspection. The certificate lasts 24 to 36 months. We could not read the fee table. The page gives no time limit. The application uses the import declaration, so we read this check as coming after the car has arrived. Ask the 3CV before you order.

Chinese standards

Chilean rules now list them in several places: safety parts in DS 26, Art. 6, electric systems in DS 145, and lighting in DS 2/2017. Emissions are the exception. DS 41/2019 names European and US EPA standards, not Chinese ones.

Emissions

Euro 6c with WLTP has applied since 1 October 2025 (DS 19/2025). The limits are written for spark and compression engines, so we read them as not applying to battery-electric cars. We found no express exemption, and the individual route still lists proof of emissions, so ask the 3CV. Hybrids and range-extender cars have an engine. By our reading they need Euro 6c and WLTP, and China 6 is not a listed route.

Range figures

The energy label moved to WLTP from 1 October 2025, and pure electric cars report km/kWh (DS 19/2025). The decree does not mention CLTC, and we found no text on how CLTC figures may be used in advertising.

Electric-car safety

(DS 145, Art. 2 and 3). UN R100 is one option, not a requirement. The rule accepts R100, the US and Japanese and Korean rules, or GB 18384-2020. It also requires:

• a charging coupler to SAE J1772, IEC 62196, CHAdeMO, or GB/T 20234-2015 with GB/T 34657-2-2017
• a travel charging cable (220/230 V, 50 Hz, 10 A) to RIC 15, approved by the regulator SEC, except on hybrids that do not plug in
• a low-speed warning sound
• orange high-voltage cables, warning labels and a safety sheet in the car
• a round green sticker

Duties on the applicant

Whoever obtains the homologation must post the safety sheet as a PDF on their website. They must also give it to the fire service, police and SEC within 10 calendar days. We did not find how this works for a private buyer on the individual route, so ask the 3CV.

Charging

RIC 15 (2024) lists Type 1, Type 2 and GB/T for AC. For DC it lists CHAdeMO, GB/T, CCS1 and CCS2. We read no rule that makes CCS2 mandatory. SEC runs RIC 15 and approves travel cables and adapters.

The real network differs. A SERNAC report from September 2026, as covered by the press, says CCS Type 2 reaches 100% of public fast charging and GB/T cars have no compatible public fast charging. It also says Type 2 reaches 98.31% of public slow-charging sites. We could not open the SERNAC report itself.

DS 145 requires a GB/T AC car to carry an adapter to Type 2. The carmaker must authorise it, and SEC must approve it for use on the public network. Cars built for the China market use GB/T, so ask which plug your version has before you order.

Registration and permit

Registration is at the Registro Civil, by online appointment (ChileAtiende 3388). You need:

• the original Aduanas document, or a copy for the vehicle register, proving legal import and tax payment
• buyer's name, address and RUT or ID number
• model, year, fuel, gross weight, engine number and VIN
• for light and medium vehicles, proof of green tax: the CIT code on the invoice or customs document, with the Treasury receipt

We did not find how the CIT step works for an exempt electric car. First registration of a car costs CLP 89,560, which is CLP 56,090 for registration and CLP 33,470 for plates.

That page does not list a homologation certificate. The legal stop comes at the next step: municipalities may not issue a circulation permit without a valid technical inspection or homologation certificate (Law 18.290, Art. 89).

Right-hand drive

Aduanas, citing the Transport Undersecretariat, says the ban is on using these cars on public roads without moving the steering (Res. 2902/2011). A third-party page cites Resolution 36/1988 as the source, but we could not open the original.

Shipping

Car carriers do reach San Antonio. BYD Changzhou arrived in August 2026 from Taicang with 1,918 electric and plug-in cars (Mundo Marítimo; DP World). We found no scheduled RoRo route and no RoRo transit time, so we give none. We also found no source for car RoRo at Valparaíso.

For containers, DP World reports the weekly ACSA 1 service linking Busan, Shanghai and Ningbo to San Antonio, from June 2025 (DP World), without transit days. Forwarders give 30 to 35 days from Shanghai and 33 to 40 from Ningbo (Welltrans), or 28 to 35 days (Sino-Shipping). These are forwarder figures, with no official source.

This site shows a CIF estimate for Chile. Duty, IVA and local costs are on top of it.

Models to ask about

China guide prices, not delivered prices.

A model on this list is not a promise of supply. Send your city, model and version through the inquiry form. We tell you whether we can supply that car before any contract.

How an order works

1. Ask a Chilean customs broker (agente de aduanas) who will import the car, and which homologation route fits your region and volume.
2. Check the model year, so the car still counts as new on the day the declaration is accepted.
3. Get a quote from the licensed Chinese export company named in the contract. Ask about the certificate of origin, plug type, adapter and travel cable.
4. Sign the contract. Nothing is paid before it is signed, and payment goes only to the company account on the invoice.
5. Your broker clears the car. Then get the CHI-e, register at the Registro Civil and get the circulation permit.