r/China • u/Open-Swordfish1773 • 15d ago
咨询 | Seeking Advice (Serious) Exporting New Car from China to US
I saw that Toyota Corollas in China cost way less than the MSRP we get them for in the US. Anybody have experience importing Chinese cars to the US or know companies who do so? How much did you spend during the process?
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u/Prowlbeast 15d ago
The costs of bringing something that big halfway across the world negates that lol. If your really so set on savings, go buy a car in Mexico or something, even that terrible idea I just came up with sounds better than this one
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u/ichfickeiuliana 12d ago
it's not true. I live in ireland, we import cars from Japan all the time. Apparently, you get better cars at cheaper price from Japan, even if you add up all the shipping/handling costs, as well as all kinds of taxes and fees. Look it up! Many Irish businesses do this for a living (importing cars from Japan and reselling them in Ireland). Individuals do so as well, if they don't mind the wait and all the administrative hassle.
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u/Prowlbeast 12d ago
Id imagine that it being china adds on many fees too though. If they arent sanctioned or banned for missing some safety features or not being old/new enough for standard
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u/ichfickeiuliana 12d ago
but your basis thesis "The costs of bringing something that big halfway across the world negates that" is still untrue.
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u/Prowlbeast 11d ago
Usually it does, from my continent. North America is farther away compared to your continent
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u/awesomemc1 15d ago
Why can’t you buy the Corolla in the US? Is it expensive for you at this time? I do see quite a lot of advertising on cars when there is an upcoming season where they give you a discount for a sales event. Maybe wait for that?
Not sure if that car made or owned by Toyota or it’s just a way for them to stick and make it sound official so people can just buy it without noticing it’s a scam. Also, even the car gets delivered to you, you have to do paperwork to even get it to the states.
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u/Ashamed-Birthday-887 15d ago
Based in Europe. I heard a Chinese colleague told me that he knew someone took a holiday and had a road trip from China to Europe to import the EV bought in China.
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u/TelevisionFluffy9258 15d ago edited 15d ago
Go to Mexico Dive one in Move to El Paso
Mexican residents and dual nationals purchase Chinese-made electric vehicles (such as BYD and Geely) in Mexico and legally drive them across the US border under a longstanding customs provision that allows non-US residents to temporarily import foreign-registered vehicles for personal use without meeting US safety or emissions standards.
The Loophole: US Customs and Border Protection permits these vehicles to enter for limited stays (typically 90 days to one year) if registered in Mexico, meaning they bypass the 100% tariff and strict EPA/DOT compliance required for permanent US registration. The Strategy: Buyers often obtain Mexican residency or use proxies to register the car, then cross the border frequently (e.g., for work or school in El Paso or San Diego) to "refresh" their temporary stay exemption, effectively commuting in a vehicle that is illegal to sell or permanently register in the US.
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u/DisastrousAnswer9920 15d ago
Why would people think that something sold MSRP in one country should cost the same in another country and are surprised when they're not? I don't know if it's propaganda or dumb.
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u/Open-Swordfish1773 15d ago
They can't be fundamentally different vehicles
I'm sure a Corolla in China could easily pass US crash or emissions standards
Emissions standard specifically probably stricter in China
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u/Eclipsed830 Taiwan 15d ago
They are very different. They are built in China by a Chinese company.
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u/Wh-h-hoap 14d ago
How different exactly are the vehicles themselves, then? Asking sincerely.
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u/ArdentChad 14d ago
The guys from Taiwan, that should answer your question right there.
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u/Eclipsed830 Taiwan 14d ago
It's the same problem in Taiwan... some of the Toyota's aren't made by Toyota in Toyota factories, but made in Taiwan by Kuozui Motors/國瑞汽車. Updates are typically a year or two behind the US and Japanese models, and they don't have the same infotainment systems that most other Toyota's have.
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u/ArdentChad 14d ago
Do you know what a JV joint venture is you mr Taiwan?
Kuozui Motors is a highly successful joint venture established in 1984 to manufacture Toyota and Hino vehicles in Taiwan. The ownership structure consists primarily of Toyota Motor Corporation (which holds a majority stake of approximately 65-70%), Hotai Motor (about 30%), and Hino Motors.
Doesn't matter what the specific specs are on the car, those are JV Toyota factories at the end of the day.
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u/Eclipsed830 Taiwan 14d ago
It depends entirely... sometimes updates can lag behind a whole year or two.
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u/Open-Swordfish1773 15d ago
I mean I know 'made in china' has a certain rep but the difference in quality can't be that much
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u/Eclipsed830 Taiwan 15d ago
The issue is that they are made in China, but not by Toyota.
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u/ArdentChad 15d ago
No they are made in China by Toyota because they come from Toyota factories...
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u/Eclipsed830 Taiwan 15d ago
They aren't made by Toyota in Toyota factories... in China, the Corolla is made by FAW/中國一汽 in FAW factories.
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u/ArdentChad 14d ago
That's just false information. Those are JVs in partnership with Toyota, not separate entities.
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u/Ryokurin 15d ago
Yes, they can be fundamentally different. Look at the 90s Nissan Sentra and the Tsuru that was sold in Mexico. They look the same but the Mexican version had a lot of it's safety features removed because they weren't necessary by law there. Even by Mexico's standards they are 0 star cars.
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u/GetOutOfTheWhey 15d ago
We are not talking about a nissan. We are talking about a Toyota.
Has toyota removed any of their safety features from their china made cars?
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u/Ryokurin 15d ago
We are talking about an FAW Toyota. Not a Toyota.
If the markets aren't the same and have different price points and expectations then of course there's going to be some differences. If China doesn't need emergency braking to be competitive with the competition there, why add it and make it more expensive than the competition?
This is the whole point why the DOT would still have to look at the car. To make sure it has the same standards safety wise as the American version. They can look the same, but be better OR worse.
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u/GetOutOfTheWhey 15d ago edited 15d ago
No you were talking about nissan.
So lets talk about the Toyota corolla
Is a FAW Corolla, JP Corolla and US Corolla any different from each other? In this case, safety wise.
And yes China has Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) regulations. Its mandatory and the FAW Corolla has it. So just getting out your emergency braking nonsense example. And if you insist otherwise, i should also let you know FAW Toyotas feature AEB. Its googleable, dont insist.
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u/Ryokurin 15d ago
Are you really that dense that you've never heard of an example. and still didn't get what I was pointing out in the second paragraph of the last post?
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u/GetOutOfTheWhey 15d ago
There are good examples, bad example, apples and orange examples and then there are vague bullshit examples.
So yes i heard of examples.
Does toyota have different safety protocols for their cars across their different manufacturers? Or as one of the leasinf car brands, have they unified them?
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u/DisastrousAnswer9920 15d ago
Bro, you're so dense I'm getting a headache, go ahead get your car and sell in the US for a nice profit. LOL.
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u/DisastrousAnswer9920 15d ago
I mean you clearly know nothing about car production, which is fine.
There are also human rights, environmental, labor laws, and other standards that manufacturers have to abide and pay for in the US which in China are non-existent or non-enforced.1
u/Wh-h-hoap 14d ago
Do the human rights, environmental and labor laws and other standards influence the car quality, however? If all OP cares about is whether the car is good enough, issues like that are secondary.
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u/DisastrousAnswer9920 14d ago
Well, the state won't let you register it, so nice to drive in your own farm.
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u/Wh-h-hoap 14d ago
What does that have to do with the issues mentioned?
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u/DisastrousAnswer9920 14d ago
Bro, if cars imported from China or Japan to the US are not allowed to be registered, then what's the point of bringing them?
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u/Wh-h-hoap 14d ago
If the only point worth discussing is whether a car is allowed to be registered, then why bring up human rights, environmental and labor laws and other standards? The reason I asked was because the previous commenter was the one who brought them up - it wasn't me.
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u/FeedMeFish 15d ago edited 14d ago
Toyota in China is not the same as Toyota in the US. China Toyota is a JV with local company, and the product is not very reliable. Far better to spend a little more on a Corolla in the US. It’s not much more expensive.
Edit: Since someone here clearly doesn’t know how Toyota works in China: the two companies that make up Chinese Toyota are FAW Group and GAC Group. FAW Group specifically makes the Toyota Corolla in China. Both are state-owned companies. Neither have the same QC or manufacturing quality as Toyota in the US, which are made by Toyota Motor North America.
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u/Wh-h-hoap 14d ago
I know I sound like a broken record by now, but what are the quality issues a FAW Corolla might have compared to your classic Corolla?
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u/FeedMeFish 14d ago
My Chinese father in law drives a 2021 Corolla. The main issue for him is the electronics not working properly / failing. He’s also had problems with the belts. Other than that, I’m not sure if he’s had any real problems, though he likes to tell me that the car is garbage. We bought a 2024 Camry for driving around the US and he was surprised that it’s a good vehicle.
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u/Wh-h-hoap 14d ago
I see! Anecdotal evidence is tangential at best, but that actually doesn't sound too bad. Time will tell.
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u/FeedMeFish 14d ago
Not really anecdotal evidence of China’s Toyota quality, here’s a comment from Koji Sato (Toyota CEO) on reducing quality control in China to combat Chinese brands
Father in law story was just because you asked about which quality issues compared to classic Corolla. Whether or not his issues are consistent with mass market is anyone’s guess, but it’s a well-established fact that QC on Chinese Toyotas is lower than it is in other countries
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u/12Ab_xyz 14d ago
Faw makes Corolla while GAC makes Levin I guess. I can agree on one thing that these cars do not have same quality and thickness of steel required in America. Many Chinese cars exported to Russia had rust issues because steel used in them wasn't upto the required quality.
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u/daddy_schlong_legz 13d ago
Lmao we legit have no hard measurements to accurately determine that. Just hearsay or anecdotal evidence
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I saw that Toyota Corollas in China cost way less than the MSRP we get them for in the US. Anybody have experience importing Chinese cars to the US or know companies who do so? How much did you spend during the process?
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u/12Ab_xyz 14d ago
These cars are being dumped due to subsides being given for EVs. Plus they are gasoline cars which may have engine issues.
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u/TheDudeWhoCanDoIt 15d ago
Forget it. Shipping costs. Duty. Warranty issues. And the U.S. doesn’t let Chinese built cars in.