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

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

Quick answer

Outside the quota, a car from outside Mercosur pays 35% import duty. The 50,000-car duty-free quota for 2026 is fully allocated, and we found no 2027 call open on 30 Oct 2026. The quota's FOB limit for pure-electric cars is now USD 35,000 under Decreto 1128/2026, per a government notice; we could not open the Boletín Oficial text. A private person can import one new car per calendar year for non-commercial use and cannot sell it for 2 years, under Resolución 271/2025. By our reading that car pays 35%, and IVA of 21% and other charges apply on either route.

Key facts

The duty-free quota

The quota is for resale. The official page asks for importers who will resell, and an ordinary buyer does not hold quota. By our reading, a buyer gets the 0% rate only by purchasing from an importer or carmaker that was allocated quota. We saw no official text saying a private person's own import can use it.

Some vehicles are excluded: passenger cars of 400 kg or less without the battery, a continuous motor rating of 15 kW or less, a range of 80 km or less, and categories L1 to L7 (Decreto 44/2026, Art. 4).

Decreto 1128/2026 changed the FOB limit. The Boletín Oficial web address dates it 30 Sep 2026, and press says it took effect on 1 Oct. The government notice gives 30 November in its text and 30 September in its page data, which we read as a typo.

Resolución 438/2026 was signed on 29 Oct 2026 and reported on 30 Oct. Press says allocation no longer follows fixed criteria of entry month and lowest price. Each call can set its own, such as compliance record, financial capacity, registrations and charging investment. No priority for pure-electric cars was reported. This comes from press only, so check the text before you rely on it.

A balance of 865 cars from the 2025 quota opened in 2026, with applications closing on 7 Aug 2026 and entry due by 31 Dec 2026 (La Nación, press). Applications run through VUCEA and TAD and need a CUIT and a fiscal key of level 3 or higher (government notice).

Private import of a new car

Resolución 271/2025, Art. 13 (official text) allows a natural person, for non-commercial use, one car per importer per calendar year. The car cannot be sold for 2 years after nationalisation. It covers new cars only.

There are three ways through vehicle approval:

1. A car identical to one with an existing LCM or CVHE does not need a new one (Res. 271, Art. 13 and 18).
2. A certificate from a UN-recognised body can replace test reports. Some EU type approvals go through a CVHE (Res. 271, Art. 4).
3. New M1 and N1 cars can use a CSV, the vehicle safety certificate, instead of the LCM and LCA (Decreto 779/95, annex 1, Art. 33 d, official text).

A CSV needs a technical report from a registered inspection workshop, a qualified dealer or importer, or a licensed engineer under sworn statement (ANSV Disposición 10/2026, official text). The fee is 20,000 módulos for the first in 12 months and 100,000 for each one after that (Disposición 11/2026, not opened; press converts these to about 100,000 and 500,000 pesos).

Adefa, the carmakers' association, says privately imported cars have no warranty or after-sales support (La Nación, press). Ask who will service your car before you order.

Other import charges

A private person's own-use import is outside the RG 2937 IVA advance, per its text (we saw the summary, not the full text). A forwarder's blog says private importers do pay a 20% additional IVA. The two conflict, and we follow the official text until a customs broker confirms. Provincial gross income tax: press gives 2% or 4%, another report 2.5%. Not verified.

Used cars

Used vehicles cannot be nationalised. The exceptions are Argentines returning after at least 1 year abroad, foreigners granted residence, foreign officials, vehicles under Decreto 654/1994, collector cars over 30 years old with FOB of at least USD 12,000, and special-purpose vehicles (Decreto 110/1999, Art. 7, official text). The minister spoke in 2025 of opening used imports; we found no rule that does so.

Charging and shipping

We found no rule on a mandatory fast-charge plug. One reported network uses CCS2 on its 60 kW units and Type 2 on its 22 kW units (press, summary only). China-market cars charge on GB/T, so ask which plug your car has before you order.

A BYD-owned car carrier unloaded about 5,800 cars at Zárate in January 2026 (MercoPress, summary only). We found no scheduled third-party RoRo service and no freight rate we can stand behind.

Models to ask about

China guide prices, not delivered prices. All are pure electric. These are not FOB values, so they do not show whether a version fits the quota limit.

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 an Argentine customs broker which route fits you: a quota holder, a commercial import with an LCM, or a private import.
2. For a private import, check which approval route fits your exact version and whether your plan fits the one-car and 2-year limits.
3. Get a quote from the licensed Chinese export company named in the contract.
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, you pay the taxes assessed, and you register it.