Antigua Guatemala in the valley below the Agua volcano, Guatemala · Bild: amslerPIX, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

KaufratgeberAktualisiert 1. Nov. 2026

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

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CRAVEUO EV Export · Sources last checked 2026-11-01 · General information, not legal advice. We do not clear customs in Guatemala. Nothing here is a promise or a quote.

Quick answer

Yes, and the incentive runs on a year-by-year schedule. Decree 40-2022, in force since 30 August 2022, exempts pure-electric cars from import IVA and the first-registration tax (IPRIMA). Press and a legal summary put the exemption at 100% for years 1 to 5, then falling each year. One guide counts that first stage to 29 August 2027. That is a calculation: the law prints no calendar date. The clock started with the law, not with your import. Electric cars over five years old cannot be imported under the decree.

Key facts

Customs duty (DAI)
Pure electric: 0% on cars, electric or not
Source: Living in Guatemala, citing the Central American tariff. Secondary, and blogs differ
Import IVA
Pure electric: 12% general rate; exempt under Art. 7
Source: Living in Guatemala; EY
IPRIMA
Pure electric: 5% rate for electric, hybrid and hydrogen; exempt under Art. 7
Source: Living in Guatemala; Vescco
Exemption by law year
Pure electric: Years 1 to 5: 100%. Then 80%, 60%, 40%, 20%, 10%
Source: DPL News, press; Living in Guatemala
End of the regime
Pure electric: About 28 August 2032
Source: Global Trade Alert
First-sale IVA
Pure electric: Exempt on the first transfer only
Source: DPL News
Circulation tax
Pure electric: 100% for the current model year, falling 20 points a year
Source: DPL News, press

Item	Pure electric	Source
Customs duty (DAI)	0% on cars, electric or not	Living in Guatemala, citing the Central American tariff. Secondary, and blogs differ
Import IVA	12% general rate; exempt under Art. 7	Living in Guatemala; EY
IPRIMA	5% rate for electric, hybrid and hydrogen; exempt under Art. 7	Living in Guatemala; Vescco
Exemption by law year	Years 1 to 5: 100%. Then 80%, 60%, 40%, 20%, 10%	DPL News, press; Living in Guatemala
End of the regime	About 28 August 2032	Global Trade Alert
First-sale IVA	Exempt on the first transfer only	DPL News
Circulation tax	100% for the current model year, falling 20 points a year	DPL News, press

Plug-in hybrids are treated differently. Hybrids get the IPRIMA exemption only, not import IVA.

We could not open the Congress copy of the decree, because the site blocked us. These facts come from EY, a tax firm, a press summary and an independent guide. They agree on the main lines, but check the decree before you rely on a rate.

Age and condition

Electric cars
Art. 16 bars import of a car over 5 years from manufacture, or with a damaged battery, motor or hydrogen cell (tax firm summary; press agrees)
Salvage titles
About 15 listed categories are barred, such as total loss, rebuilt, fire
Conflict
Soy502 lists a 10-year figure for some exemptions. We treat the 5-year figure as the stronger reading
General age ban
One guide says the Constitutional Court struck down the general model-year limits in 2013, so an older combustion car is not a guide to the electric rule
Steering
We found only a commercial claim that right-hand drive is not allowed. No rule found

Rule	Detail
Electric cars	Art. 16 bars import of a car over 5 years from manufacture, or with a damaged battery, motor or hydrogen cell (tax firm summary; press agrees)
Salvage titles	About 15 listed categories are barred, such as total loss, rebuilt, fire
Conflict	Soy502 lists a 10-year figure for some exemptions. We treat the 5-year figure as the stronger reading
General age ban	One guide says the Constitutional Court struck down the general model-year limits in 2013, so an older combustion car is not a guide to the electric rule
Steering	We found only a commercial claim that right-hand drive is not allowed. No rule found

The electric rule is stricter than the general one. That matters if a seller quotes old advice about 10-year limits.

Procedure

Government Agreement 295-2022 sets procedures for applying for, validating, certifying and approving the incentives. We could not read its text, so we cannot say whether a private buyer must apply before import or how. A tax firm describes a Ministry of Energy and Mines certificate and a tax-authority resolution for charging projects. It does not confirm that this route applies to a single car.

SAT bases tax on your foreign invoice only if it is valid and verifiable, and otherwise on its annual value tables. The same guide says a customs broker is needed but cites no article, so we read that as likely, not confirmed.

Models to ask about

China guide prices, not delivered prices. All are pure electric.

Aion V
Type: Battery-electric
China guide price from: ¥109,800
XPeng G6
Type: Battery-electric
China guide price from: ¥176,800
NIO ET5
Type: Battery-electric
China guide price from: ¥298,000

Model	Type	China guide price from
Aion V	Battery-electric	¥109,800
XPeng G6	Battery-electric	¥176,800
NIO ET5	Battery-electric	¥298,000

Send your country, model and version through the inquiry form. We tell you whether we can supply that car before any contract.

How an order works

Ask a Guatemalan customs broker how to claim the exemption under Decree 40-2022 and Agreement 295-2022, and which law-year percentage applies on your arrival date.
Check the build date. For a used car, stay inside five years.
Get a quote from the licensed Chinese export company named in the contract.
Sign. Nothing is paid before it is signed, and payment goes only to the company account on the invoice.
Your broker clears the car and you pay any taxes assessed. Then register it with SAT.