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Import cars from China to Chile
Tongda Motors ships new electric, hybrid and petrol cars from Chinese factories to San Antonio, Valparaíso or the Iquique free zone — with China–Chile FTA paperwork that keeps duty at a minimum. Orders from one unit to full fleets, one contract for cars, documents and freight.
- PORTS
- SAN ANTONIO · VALPARAÍSO · IQUIQUE
- TRANSIT
- ±30–40 DAYS
- DRIVE
- LHD
- TERMS
- FOB · CIF · DAP
WHY CHILE
The FTA does the heavy lifting.
Chile was the first Latin American country to sign a free trade agreement with China, and it shows on the street: Chinese brands sit among the country's best-selling marques year after year. Most qualifying Chinese-built vehicles enter with little or no import duty when shipped with a correct certificate of origin — we issue it with every load, and your customs broker confirms the current treatment for your HS code.
Santiago dealers typically take sedans, SUVs and crossovers through San Antonio or Valparaíso. Traders serving the north — and re-exporters working Bolivia and southern Peru — often prefer the ZOFRI free zone in Iquique. We ship to either, and quote both on request.
CHINA OR JAPAN?
Why Chilean importers buy from China.
Many Chilean buyers start by looking at Japan. The catch is that Japan drives on the left, so its home-market cars are right-hand drive, and most of what Japanese exporters sell is used. Chilean registration expects left-hand drive, and most used imports are kept out of the mainland, which rules out the bulk of that stock.
China solves both problems. Its cars are left-hand drive as built, we ship them new, and qualifying units enter under the China–Chile FTA. If your customers want a Japanese badge, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda all build models in China through local joint ventures. We confirm homologation and origin treatment per model before you order.
Who builds which Japanese brand in China, and how the cars differ: Japanese cars from China.
THE ROUTE
South China to the Chilean coast.
01
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Units are collected from factories, inspected per VIN and consolidated at Nansha, Shekou or Guangzhou for the trans-Pacific leg.
02
Ocean freight
Racked containers or RoRo sailings direct to San Antonio and Valparaíso, or via transhipment to Iquique. FOB, CIF or DAP — your choice.
03
Arrival & clearance
Transit is typically 30–40 days. The document pack — invoice, packing list, B/L, certificate of origin — is couriered ahead so clearance starts on arrival.
IMPORT NOTES
What Chilean buyers should know.
China–Chile free trade agreement
In force since 2006, the FTA eliminates tariffs on most qualifying Chinese-built goods, vehicles included, when accompanied by a certificate of origin. Confirm the current treatment for your exact HS code with your broker before ordering.
New vehicles only for general import
Chile broadly prohibits importing used passenger vehicles into the mainland customs territory. Everything we ship for Chilean registration is new or zero-mileage; the Iquique free zone follows its own regime — ask if that is your channel.
Homologation
Models on sale in Chile are typically already homologated by the local importer network; for models that are not, we advise on spec sheets and certificates before you commit to an order.
Electric vehicles
Chile's EV uptake is among the strongest in the region. EV shipments include battery health reports and required battery transport documents — see electric cars from China.
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