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

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

Quick answer

Yes, a person can import one for their own use. Switzerland has no customs duty on cars, and a car imported for personal use is exempt from type approval. That is not a free pass: the canton must find the car compliant in every respect, and a car without an EU CoC is harder and more expensive. Expect 4% automobile tax and 8.1% VAT. New instructions from 1 January 2027 ease some technical proofs for direct imports, but they do not remove the check.

What you pay

The EU's extra duties on China-built cars (Regulation 2024/2754 (search excerpt, not opened)) do not apply. Switzerland is outside the EU customs area, and it charges no duty on cars.

Own use: the exemption and its limit

Article 4 of the type-approval ordinance exempts vehicles imported for personal use. ASTRA's instructions define this: the car is registered in Switzerland in the name of the importer declared at customs. It can be sold later.

The same instructions say the exemption only removes the type approval. The cantonal authority still runs an individual check, and the car must comply in every respect (point 2.1). A company buying cars to resell does not fit this wording. We read that as needing the type-approval route, where parallel importers depend on an existing Swiss approval or data sheet.

Without a CoC

The instructions (point 3.1) ask for at least Form 13.20 A, the customs decision, and, if available, the EU CoC. Without a CoC, you also supply:

• technical data, such as power, top speed and guaranteed weight;
• proof that lights, reflectors and seat belts carry Swiss, UN or EU approval marks;
• proof on noise and, where they apply, on front and side protection and tyres.

For cars not built to Swiss or European rules, point 3.4 also asks for laminated windscreen glass and a speedometer in km/h. A China-market car needs each of these checked one by one.

Geneva's 2021 import notice adds, for electric cars without a CoC or an EU registration, proof on low-voltage safety and electromagnetic compatibility. It also lists crash-protection proof under UN R94 and R95, and pedestrian protection. Vaud (search excerpt, not opened) warns that an import without a CoC is more complicated and more expensive, and advises asking the seller about a CoC before you buy. Ask your own canton, because the lists are cantonal.

What changes on 1 January 2027

ASTRA's supplement of 20 October 2026 keeps some exceptions after the end of the transition periods on 31 December 2026. For M1 cars exempt under Article 4, without EU whole-vehicle approval:

• no event data recorder, emergency braking, lane-keeping, driver-warning, tyre-pressure or reversing system is required, and no proof of protection against unauthorised software updates;
• no pedestrian-protection proof up to 2.5 tonnes;
• no proof of protection against cyberattacks, though the manufacturer must still ensure equivalent protection;
• test evidence can be recognised if it shows compliance with the full EU individual approval under Article 44 of Regulation 2018/858. This covers cars registered for the first time, or first registered abroad less than six months before import.

Other conditions stay, including traffic and product safety. Separately, ASTRA's instructions of early February 2026 remove the need for electromagnetic immunity proof for these cars and relax the emission proof. Both matter to a China-market EV, because that is where the Geneva list expected evidence.

Used cars, official brands, charging

Models to ask about

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

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

1. Ask your cantonal road traffic office for its list for a car without a CoC.
2. Ask the exporter whether a CoC exists, and what test reports the manufacturer will release.
3. Sign with the licensed Chinese export company, once the canton's list is clear. Nothing is paid before it is signed, and payment goes only to the company account on the invoice.
4. Enter the car in the ASTRA portal, clear customs in your own name, and collect Form 13.20 A.
5. Present the car and file at the canton for the individual check, then insure and register it.