Norway charges 0% duty and no countervailing duty; Sweden and Denmark pay the full EU stack — 10% duty plus a brand CVD of 17–35.3% — and 25% VAT, with Denmark adding a $3,500 registration block. A BYD Seal lands at $38,112 in Norway, $45,890 in Sweden and $49,320 in Denmark. The three-way math, model by model.
Austria applies the full EU customs stack — 10% standard duty plus a brand-specific countervailing duty of 17% to 35.3% — then 20% VAT and a $200 registration line, while the NoVA acquisition tax is fully exempt for BEVs. A BYD Seal lands at about $44,431 (+80.0%), within $18 of Germany and $10,624 above the same car via non-EU Switzerland. Full stack, model by model, for Central Europe's German-speaking import market.
Belgium applies the same EU tariff stack as Germany and the Netherlands — 10% standard duty plus a 17%–35.3% brand-specific countervailing duty — and adds 21% VAT, with the smallest registration line in our four-market comparison at about $150. A BYD Seal lands at about $44,699 (+81.0%). And the cars arrive through Antwerp-Zeebrugge, Europe's largest vehicle-transshipment complex.
Denmark applies the full EU stack — 10% standard duty, a brand-specific countervailing duty of 17% to 35.3%, and 25% VAT — then adds the largest registration block in our 30-market dataset at $3,500. A BYD Seal lands at about $49,320 (+99.8%), $3,430 above Sweden and the steepest EU landing we record for it. Full stack, model by model.
Importing a Chinese EV to France stacks the EU's 10% standard duty, a brand-specific countervailing duty (BYD 17%, Geely 18.8%, SAIC/MG 35.3%, most other exporters 20.7%), and 20% VAT — plus a registration line our model holds flat at $400. A BYD Seal lands at about $44,631 (+80.8%) in our 30-market records: $218 above Germany and $318 below the Netherlands. France is also a Stellantis home market that both competes with these imports and distributes Chinese-built cars.
Germany applies the EU's full trade-defence stack to Chinese EVs: 10% standard duty, a brand-specific countervailing duty (BYD 17%, Geely 18.8%, SAIC 35.3%, most other producers 20.7%), then 19% VAT — a BYD Seal lands at about $44,413 (+79.9%). Germany beats France, the Netherlands and Belgium on seven of nine models, but never by more than $708 — and Teslas built at Giga Berlin sit outside the duty entirely. The full stack, model by model.
The Netherlands applies the full EU stack — 10% standard duty, a brand-specific countervailing duty of 17% to 35.3%, and 21% VAT — plus a $400 registration line. A BYD Seal lands at about $44,949 (+82.1%): exactly $250 above Belgium and $536 above Germany. The customs bill is identical at every EU border; Rotterdam is the gateway the cars arrive through.
Importing a Chinese EV to Portugal runs the full EU tariff stack — 10% standard duty plus a brand-specific countervailing duty of 17% to 35.3% — and then 23% VAT, among the bloc's highest rates. A BYD Seal lands at about $45,385 (+83.8%): $726 more than the same car into Spain and the third-costliest of our twelve EU markets. Model-by-model math, the Iberian comparison, and what Portugal's EV incentives do and do not offset.
Qatar charges 5% GCC duty, no VAT and a $30 registration — a BYD Seal lands at $30,104.50 (+21.9%), $1,566 under the UAE. The Gulf stack, model by model.
Saudi Arabia charges 5% GCC duty, 15% VAT and a $300 registration. A BYD Seal lands at $34,263.18 (+38.8%) — $4,158.68 over Qatar. The full stack, model by model.
Spain applies the EU's 10% standard duty, a brand-specific countervailing duty of 17% to 35.3%, and 21% VAT, with a $110 registration line in our records. A BYD Seal lands at about $44,659 (+80.9%) — $246 above Germany, $458 below Italy and $1,231 below Sweden. Full stack, model by model, plus Plan Auto+, the MG Galicia plant and why Chinese brands are gaining fastest in this price-driven market.
The UAE charges a 5% GCC duty, 5% VAT and a $300 registration — a BYD Seal lands at $31,670.73 (+28.3%): $2,592 under Saudi Arabia, $12,743 under Germany, and only Qatar lands cheaper. The UAE stack, model by model.
Importing a Chinese EV to Italy stacks the EU's 10% duty with a brand-specific countervailing duty (BYD 17%, Geely 18.8%, SAIC/MG 35.3%, most others 20.7%) and 22% VAT — the highest VAT of the EU's four largest car markets. A BYD Seal lands at about $45,117 (+82.7%) in our 30-market records; a Leapmotor T03 at $20,021. Italy is also Stellantis's home market, which makes the import story unusual: the country's best-selling EV is distributed by Stellantis itself, and BYD has been in talks about underused Italian plants.
Importing a Chinese EV to Poland means the full EU tariff stack — 10% standard duty, a brand-specific countervailing duty (17% BYD to 35.3% SAIC), and 23% VAT — and a BYD Seal lands at about $45,240 (+83.2%), roughly $826 dearer than the same car in Germany. Poland still matters more than any other CEE market: a record 667,578 new-car registrations in 2025, Chinese brands at 8.2% for the year and a record 14.5% in December, and the NaszEauto subsidy now fully allocated. Here is the model-by-model landed-cost math and the trade-corridor context.
Sweden applies the same EU tariff stack as Germany — 10% standard duty plus a brand-specific countervailing duty of 17% to 35.3% — and adds 25% VAT, among the highest rates in the EU. A BYD Seal lands at about $45,890 (+85.9%), roughly $7,778 more than the same car into Norway. Full stack, model by model.
Importing a Chinese EV to the UK means 10% MFN duty and 20% VAT — and none of the EU's 17–35.3% countervailing duty. Our model lands a BYD Seal at $38,840.8 (+57.3%), about $5,573 below Germany. Here is the tax stack, the IVA and RHD requirements, and the model-by-model math.
Importing a Chinese EV to Norway means 0% import duty and no countervailing duty — but from 1 January 2026 the 25% VAT exemption covers only the first NOK 300,000 of an electric car's price, with full VAT signalled from 2027. Here is the real landed cost, model by model.
Importing a Chinese EV to Switzerland means a 4% automobile tax and 8.1% VAT — no EU 10% tariff and no countervailing duty. That makes it the cheapest European market we track: a $24,690 BYD Seal lands at about $33,807 (+36.9%). The real obstacle is type approval and the MFK inspection, not the tax bill.
Inside the EU, the tariff stack is identical — the only variable is VAT (Germany 19%, France 20%, Netherlands 21%). The real landed-cost spread is ~1%, and it's almost never the deciding factor. Here's the honest math.
A Chinese EV advertised at $14,000 can land in Germany at over $28,000. Here's the complete formula — duty, countervailing duty, VAT, freight, certification — and the one rule that explains every surprise.
Both Gulf markets escape the EU's countervailing duty entirely — but the UAE beats Saudi Arabia on VAT (5% vs 15%). The landed-cost spread, model by model, and why the Gulf is structurally the cheapest region to import into.