Importing an e-Golf from the USA

[harrison.sand]

I've just moved to Norway from the United States, and I was considering buying and importing an e-Golf from home. The US has some really good tax incentives for buying an electric car, you can get about 75.000, NOK off your income taxes at the end of the year. And that's on top of the already somewhat lower retail price, about 249.000, NOK for the fully loaded model. If I've done the math correctly the car would cost me 190.000, NOK in total. (That includes shipping and Norway's import fees)

The e-Golf is a new addition to the US car market, dealers just started getting their first shipments a couple months ago, and right now it is only being sold in certain states. So I'm thinking I might be one of the first to do this. But if anybody else has looked into doing this/has done this or knows of any issues I might encounter I would really appreciate the advice.

Some potential problems that popped into my head:

• The charge plug? VW's US website says it uses the "Combined Charging System" or CCS.
• The license plate size is different
• Warrenty

Thanks!

[Øyvind.h]

If I've done the math correctly the car would cost me 190.000, NOK in total. (That includes shipping and Norway's import fees)

190K sound like a very good deal. People buy 1-2 year old Nissan Leaf US import for 140-150K and upwards.

The only problem is if the car needs an sw update to work with CCS, and Volkswagen won`t cooperate. You should also look into what kind of onboard charger the car has. Does it support 50hz vs 60hz power? Probably, but ask VW

[Thomas Parsli]

Major worries are software updates and warranty;

You should check how warranty-details with AMCAR (http://amcar.no/forsiden/kontakt/978/kontakt+amcar.html) as VW Norway (Møller-gruppen) has some strange ideas about customer service.

I'm not even shure a VW dealer are able to do software updates on US-models, as US-firmware are not distributed to Norwegian dealers.

Thomas

[Thomas Parsli]

There are at least one necessary CSS update (http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/volkswagen-e-golf-struck-charging-setback), but you can be certain there are hundreds of bugs in the firmware on shipping cars.

Range could be affected, but most software updates fixes problems with "in car systems" (ie. engine, charger, breaking, ACC).

Thomas

[fmaalen]

An e-Golf from the US has CCS with type 1 interface not type 2. So you will not be able to use European CCS chargers. I doubt you'll be able to easily change out the charging port on the car. And re-sale value of the car in Norway will be significantly lower than for European spec cars. Unless you plan to keep it for 20 years it might be a better deal to get one in Norway.

[Kent]

. And re-sale value of the car in Norway will be significantly lower than for European spec cars. Unless you plan to keep it for 20 years it might be a better deal to get one in Norway.

There is still a 100k price difference in the first place, I dont think a 5 year old/or even a 3 year old US egolf will sell for 100k less than a European.

All other issues are probably valid, but unless you want to sell it within a few months I would not worry to much about resell price.

[Finnøy (Arne Johan Larsen)]

Generic issues between US and European/Norwegian specs in addition to warranty and charging for EV's:
- radio's don't match easily.
a) European/Norwegian use more FM with RDS and frequencies than typically available from US specs
b) DAB + in Norway vs XM in the US
- Sat Nav - totally different maps, not always possible to upgrade
- Lights: needs to be adjusted. In particular the US specs orange parking lights. But the AMCAR club is experts in the latter.

[jkirkebo]

An e-Golf from the US has CCS with type 1 interface not type 2. So you will not be able to use European CCS chargers. I doubt you'll be able to easily change out the charging port on the car.

Would something like this allow me to use CCS charging stations here?
https://www.phoenixcontact.com/online/portal/us?1dmy&urile=wcm:path:/usen/web/main/products/subcategory_pages/e-mobility_plug-in_connectors_p-20-12/66a01be7-9a16-40f6-8fdd-0b61392ae691/66a01be7-9a16-40f6-8fdd-0b61392ae691

It says "this enables vehicles equipped with a type 1 inlet (standard in the USA and Japan) to be charged using type 2 standard European charging stations."

No, that's only for slow charging, not CCS. CCS has two extra DC pins underneath the standard pins. I am not aware of any adapter, and I don't think any is forthcoming as the market for one is miniscule.

[Rio]

Be aware that in the US there is a 7.4 KW onboard charger available, whereas in Europe only 3.3 kW is available. This would somewhat compensate for not being able to quick charge on CCS.

However, the chargers on the US-models are different from the European models, and may not be approved for use in Europe. Take care here.

The US cars have "CCS Type 1", which is single phase AC charging. That is, to charge with 7.4 kW you need a supply with 32 A (22 kW three phase), as you only use a single phase.

If you do this, I would hear whether VW could exchange the Type 1 wiring harness with a Type 2 wiring harness.

Alternatively, order a European car in the US, and ship it back to Europe!

[fmaalen]

One more thing I would check is that you would still qualify for the tax benefits in the US next year if you live and work in Norway in 2015. And I would assume you need to register the car officially in the US before export to get the tax benefit? This is only an issue if you buy a brand new car off course. If you can find an almost new one this is no issue as someone else would have dealt with this already.

I still would seriously think twice about this, I think a US spec e-Golf without fast charging and no warranty would be a very hard sell in Norway. To get a feel for how popular cars without fast charging is look at how the Ford Focus has done in Norway, not very well. US spec Nissan Leafs are doing ok here, but they support Chademo and are pretty much the same spec as in Norway(no Carwings/connectivity though).

[PrebenNyeng]

A few more issues to the list:
- Norwegian cars come with a 5 year warranty. If you import a car, I do no think the Norwegian dealers will provide the same warranty. With new technology I would not buy a car that effectively is without warranty.
- Carnet will probably not work with the US sim card. It may be possible to exchange the sim card, but who knows if it will work.
- Norwegian cars come more or less fully loaded. You should check the US trim level against the Norwegian when comparing prices.

[Hyperstress]

Alternatively, order a European car in the US, and ship it back to Europe!

Best suggestion so far. I would definitely tried this option before even spending an hour figuring out all the differences between US and European cars.

[HelectriC]

Would the price still be 190k when taking the VAT into account? I guess you only get electric cars free from VAT if purchased new in Norway?

[Rio]

Would the price still be 190k when taking the VAT into account? I guess you only get electric cars free from VAT if purchased new in Norway?

No, there is no VAT (sales tax) on importing an electric car to Norway. No tax or duty of any kind, in fact, except a deposit for "scrapping the car".

[Gordon Retriever]

Norwegian cars come more or less fully loaded.

Correct - at least partially so: US-market e-Golfs come with parking sensors, rear-view camera, keyless access and start, which are only available at extra cost on Norwegian cars.  Buyers in the USA also get front seats with partial power adjustment.

However, I am uncertain about whether American cars have pre-crash braking, and they seem to lack adaptive cruise control.  US-e-Golfs are equipped with navigation-/stereo units with a smaller screen. (Satellite radio vs. DAB+ has already been mentioned.)  The fake leather-seats standard in the US may be practical but possibly not everybody's taste.