Switzerland Car Shipping

Shipping your car, automobile, and vehicle to Switzerland .

Switzerland, in central Europe, is the land of the Alps. Basel Port is the main port located along the Rhine River, where Wiese and Birs Rivers and the French, German and Swiss borders meet. The port is the gateway to the Swiss Rhineland. Being close to Germany and France, this city boasts of a rich multi-national heritage.

Whether door-to-door or port-to-port, we will tailor our transport and relocation services to meet your deadlines. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Major cites in Switzerland:

• Zürich
• Geneva
• Basel
• Bern
• Lausanne
• Lucerne
• Lugano
• Winterthur

* Services are also available to other cites in Switzerland.

Shipping Advice:

Time frame - Shipping a car or container of household items generally takes three to four weeks. Cars and Autos are shipped in individual containers, but many sea carriers will allow partial containers of household goods.

Please contact one of our shipping agents to discuss your auto transport and shipping needs. If necessary, we will be able to help deliver the container to your house for packing, then retrieve it for delivery to the docks. All of our agents are skillfully trained and certified.

Important Country Facts:

The economy of Switzerland is one of the world's most stable economies. Switzerland’s political and economic system has brought decades of stability and promises a high quality of life and a secure future. This stability is the reason why there is increase and steady tide of foreign investment.>
The franc  is the currency of Switzerland.The Swiss franc is the only version of the franc still issued in Europe.

Four per cent of Switzerland's Gross Domestic Product comes from the shipping and logistics sector. It employs some 130,000 people in Switzerland alone.

Surprising as it may seem for a landlocked country, Switzerland has a merchant navy, with around 30 ships transporting goods of all kinds apart from arms, operating under contract anywhere in the world. Their port of registration is Basel.

The fleet - the most modern in the world - accounts for about 0.1% of world tonnage.
With increasing globalization efficient shipping and  transport is becoming more and more important. 

Importing and Auto Shipping to Switzerland:

Swiss customs officials must be informed as soon as a vehicle being imported arrives in the country. Customs will provide a form to be completed and shown along with the following documents:

• Driver's licence
• Proof of identity
• Invoice/receipt of purchase of the car
• Proof of vehicle's origin

Tax and import duty will be charged; the amount due will depend on how long the owner has had the car.

Customs will inform the Road Traffic Office (Service des Automobiles et de la Navigation), who will send the forms required to apply for Swiss license plates.

Switzerland Taxes and Duties:

No import duty will be charged on a vehicle owned for more than six months. A clearance request form (available from customs) must be completed.
A vehicle may be driven with its foreign licence plate for one year.
Cars and motorcycles imported from Europe may be brought in tax-free provided proof of origin can be presented.

The following taxes are due on an imported car owned for less than six months:

• Customs duties: rate based on the weight and the engine capacity of the vehicle.The rates of duty are the same for used as for new vehicles. Vehicles manufactured in the EFT-Area (EU, EEA, EFTA), in a country with which Switzerland has concluded a Free-trade agreement or in a developing country and which comply with the rules of origin of the free trade agreements in question, are, on importation from one of these countries, admitted to a preferential rate or, if provided for, duty free. The application of preferential rates or of the duty-free assessment is to be asked for in the import declaration.
• Consumption tax: amounting to 4% of the car's worth.
• VAT (value added tax) The value-added tax is calculated on the value of the vehicle (plus customs duty) at the first place of destination in Switzerland. The rate is at present 6.5 %. The value  is to be documented with the invoice or the bill of sale.
• Fee: for the report (a document that is required in order to register the vehicle in Switzerland).
• All duties are to be paid on import clearance.

Exemptions from import duty and VAT

• Importing a car due to marriage
• Importing a car for succession purposes

Import for foreign diplomats Cars imported from the United States

Cars imported from the United States must have the correct tyres adapted to the maximum authorized speed, shatter proof windscreens, the speedometer must display Kilometres per hour (Km/h) and headlights need to be adapted to suit European regulations.&

Imported cars should have a catalytic converter fitted in order to reduce pollution.

Note: Most modern EU and US approved vehicles already meet this requirement.

Registering an Imported Vehicle

Approximately a month after importing a vehicle, the motor registration office will write, informing the owner that they have up to a year in which the vehicle must pass the official technical inspection (Contrôle technique du véhicule).

Documents required for the technical inspection:

• Proof of car insurance
• Customs form (13.20)
• Original registration card or certificate (log book)
• Emissions test certificate (test anti pollution)
• Technical information concerning the vehicle; maximum speed, weight, engine size, brake horsepower and Swiss fiscal rating (CV)

WE ARE A TRUSTED LEADER IN INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC CARGO SHIPPING.

Since 1977 our safety records for cargo shipment delivery have exceeded all industry standards and have made us one of the most dependable shipping companies in the industry. Thus, whether you are shipping cars, vehicles, full households, individual furniture, antiques, or other goods, you will comfortable knowing that Schumacher Cargo Logistics will take care of all aspects of your relocation needs.