1. Basic situation

The Hellenic Republic (referred to as Greece) is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa and has an important strategic position. The capital is Athens, with a land area of 131957 square kilometers. Greece's largest port is Piraeus Port, 9 kilometers away from Athens. It was developed through investment from China COSCO Group. It is not only the busiest container port in the Mediterranean region, but also one of the top five container ports in Europe. According to statistics from the International Monetary Fund, in 2024, Greece's GDP will be US$252.7 billion, a growth rate of 6.1%, its population will be 10.4 million, and its per capita GDP will be US$24716. In August 2018, Greece and China signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in jointly building the "Belt and Road", and Greece became the first developed European country to sign such a memorandum with China. According to China customs data, in 2024, the bilateral trade volume between China and Greece will be US$12.87 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 5.4%. Among them, China's exports to Greece were US$11.81 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7.5%; China's import trade from Greece was US$1.06 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.4%. China mainly exports electrical and electrical equipment, knitted garments, mechanical equipment, etc. to Greece, and mainly imports medicines, petroleum, marble, etc. from Greece.

Greece's domestic transportation is mainly road and sea transportation. The mileage of highways in Greece is about 2500 kilometers. With Greece's vigorous development of infrastructure this year, highways, high-grade highways and urban traffic conditions have improved significantly. Greece's main minerals include bauxite (reserves of about 1 billion tons), lignite (reserves of 5.8 billion tons), nickel, chromium, magnesium, asbestos, copper, uranium, gold, petroleum, marble, etc.

2. Automobile market situation

Greece is a left-hand driving country, with approximately 600 cars per 1,000 people. In 2024, Greek car sales will be 147,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 1.6%. Among them, BYD rose to second place in the electric vehicle market share with a 23.1% share, behind Tesla with 29%.

2017-2024 New car sales in Greece in 2009

Data source: China Automobile Industry Information Network

Greece is very concerned about the development of new energy vehicles and provides a consumption subsidy of 8000 euros per new energy vehicle. At the same time, due to the large number of islands in Greece, residents on the islands can also receive an additional island subsidy of 4000 euros per vehicle. However, due to the imperfect supporting industrial chain of new energy vehicles, the promotion of new energy vehicles in Greece is still difficult.

3. Policies and regulations on used car import

1. Import policy

Imported used cars from Greece need to meet at least Euro 4 emission standards. At the same time, in order to further promote Greece's electrification process and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Greek government imposes an additional environmental fee on imported used cars with Euro 4 and Euro 5 emission standards. Specifically, an environmental fee of 3000 euros will be imposed on used cars subject to Euro 4 emission standards. An environmental fee of 1000 euros will be imposed on used cars with Euro 5 emission standards. The Greek government said the environmental fees collected could be used to implement actions to promote electric vehicles, such as subsidizing the purchase or lease of new energy vehicle charging facilities.

Imported used cars in Greece need to be registered in the Imported Used Vehicle Registry (M.E.M.O.). The vehicle details that must be registered include chassis number, category, brand, model, engine capacity, carbon dioxide emissions, foreign vehicle registration certificate expiration date, number and date classification certificate of the vehicle arrival statement, application date for Greece's first transportation permit and pending safety recalls. The General Directorate for Supervision and Control of the General Secretariat of the Greek Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport conducts a sample inspection of the registration information every three months. If the registration is found to be inaccurate, a fine of 500 to 2000 euros will be imposed.

2. Tax policy

Greece imposes different taxes and fees on used cars from the EU and non-EU regions, as follows:

Vehicles from EU Member States:

● Registration fee

Vehicles shipped from third countries to the EU:

● Original invoice and certificate of ownership

● Original registration certificate

● Qualification certificate

● Vehicle Arrival Statement (DVA)

● Registration fee

● Tariffs

● Value added tax

(1)Registration fee: Registration fee =(pre-tax retail price of new vehicles-depreciation price)* classification coefficient. Among them, the depreciation price is determined based on the model and vehicle of the used car, the depreciation price is calculated through the depreciation percentage, and the classification coefficient is divided in detail according to the carbon dioxide emissions of the vehicle and the specifications of the emission standard. In particular, hybrid vehicles are exempted by 50% of the registration fee, and pure electric vehicles are not required to pay a registration fee.

(2)Tariffs: Used cars imported from third countries into the EU will be subject to an import tariff of 10% based on the customs value.

(3)Value-added tax: Passenger cars imported from third countries are subject to value-added tax at 24% of the taxable value.

3. Documents required for import

● Original registration certificate of the relevant vehicle in a foreign country

● A certificate issued by the state transportation and communications authority and contains the following contents:

Classification circulation date and registration number in my country

Date of cancellation from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications's motor vehicle register

Engine type, fuel type, chassis number and engine displacement

Details of the factory/manufacturer and type of vehicle owner

● Registration certificate of the vehicle in Greece or a copy of its registration certificate

● Statement of responsibility of the interested person stating the identification information and registration number of the vehicle in our country and abroad, and stating that the vehicle is the same vehicle as the vehicle previously registered and circulated in the country

Source: "China's Used Car Export Country Guide 2024"

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