Ship a Car to France from the USA: From $1,100 to Le Havre and Fos-sur-Mer

Shared container shipping to France starts at $1,100 port to port from New Jersey to Le Havre, up to $3,400 from Texas. Destination charges at Le Havre are about €950 per car, before duty and VAT. The rate table above lists every route to Le Havre and Fos-sur-Mer. Use our calculator for an instant rate on your exact vehicle and route.

It depends on where the car was built and on customs. Since July 1, 2026, the EU has a 0% duty on US-built cars under Regulation (EU) 2026/1455, in effect through December 31, 2029, but the customs office handling the import decides whether to grant it. Current guidance ties the 0% to a certificate of origin, which new cars usually have and a classic built 30 years ago usually does not. Without it the car pays 10% duty plus 20% VAT, unless it clears as a collectors' item under heading 9705. Origin follows the factory, not the badge: a Detroit-built Viper is US-built, a Brampton-built Challenger is not. Check where your car was built.

20% import VAT on the customs value: the car, the shipping and any duty. Original collector cars over 30 years old pay 5.5% VAT and no duty under heading 9705.

Sailing to Le Havre takes 15–18 days from New Jersey; the rate table above lists the days at sea for every route to Le Havre and Fos-sur-Mer. US export documents and container loading take about two weeks before the sailing. From drop-off to release, the fastest route is 30 days from Florida. Air freight is quoted per car, with 10–14 days in transit.

Le Havre in the north and Fos-sur-Mer in the south are France's primary gateways for vehicles arriving from the USA. Both handle containers and RoRo, with onward road links to Paris, Lyon, Marseille and the rest of Europe. After your import agent clears the car, we can arrange delivery to your door.

We load France-bound containers at our own warehouses in California, Florida and New Jersey, and at a partner facility in Texas. We collect from any US address with open or enclosed car transporters and bring the car to the nearest one, or you can drop it off yourself.

Yes. Original cars over 30 years old can enter France as collectors' items under heading 9705, with no duty and 5.5% VAT, and can register as collection vehicles (carte grise de collection) with an FFVE attestation. We ship them in enclosed containers. For a classic, we would plan on the collectors' route rather than the new 0% rule.

Possibly, if you are moving to France permanently. The usual conditions: you have lived outside the EU for at least the past 12 months, you will register the car in your name, you have owned it for at least the past 6 months, and you will not sell or re-export it within 12 months of import.

Get a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) from the manufacturer or an individual approval, have the car inspected at an approved technical control center, then file the carte grise application through ANTS with form cerfa n°13750, proof of identity, address and ownership, the CoC, the inspection report and the customs clearance certificate. Your import agent or a registration service can file it for you.

Most US auto policies do not cover international transport. Our optional Cargo Damage Protection covers the car from arrival at the US warehouse through container loading and the ocean crossing until it is unloaded in France, at 2% of the declared value above $500, with a $200 minimum. Without it, carrier liability is limited to $500 per package.

For regular cars, SUVs and motorcycles we recommend a container: the car travels fully enclosed and departs from our own warehouses. RoRo is for oversized vehicles, commercial trucks and heavy machinery, which must be operational and empty.

Yes. EVs and hybrids need extra paperwork: we handle the battery documents for the sailing, and your import agent confirms the French registration steps.