Here's some text from the NHTSA website. Don't know if anyone has ever done
this, but importing an EV from China for its electrical parts might be
possible, with some arduous work:
A disassembled vehicle that is shipped without an engine and transmission is
treated for importation purposes not as a motor vehicle, but instead as an
assemblage of motor vehicle equipment items. Such an assemblage can lawfully be
imported into the U.S., provided any equipment included in the assemblage that
is subject to FMVSS, but was not originally manufactured to comply with that
FMVSS or was not so certified by its original manufacturer, is removed from the
assemblage prior to entry into the U.S. Equipment items that are subject to the
FMVSS include tires, rims, brake hoses, brake fluid, seat belt assemblies,
glazing materials, and lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Bill
Send
On Fri, 26 Apr, 2024 at 10:38 AM, Lee Hart via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote:
To: electric vehicle discussion list
Cc: leeah...@earthlink.net
Peri Hartman via EV wrote:
> If anyone figures out how to import an EV, please let me know.
There may be other loopholes as well.
I bought my ComutaVan as scrap from a junkyard. I got it inspected and
re-titled it as an "assembled electric vehicle". It was fully roadworthy; not
an NEV. The only issue the inspector had was the regulation that it "must have
an exhaust system". I satisfied him by bolting a (useless) tailpipe onto it.
Another way is to import it as scrap or parts, and assemble it yourself.
Several companies have done this. Zap, Wemo, and Zenn seem to have gone this
route. There is a company near me in Minnesota that brought in some
disassembled Russian cars, re-assembled, and sold them. Another is currently
bringing in Chinese EVs the same way (though I think they are selling them as
NEVs).Then some are simply driven in from Mexico or Canada, and then
re-registered in the US (perhaps by careless DMV clerks.There may also be a
loophole if you are moving into the US and want to bring your car. Didn't
Mercedes have a program where they let you buy one in Europe and bring it with
you back to the US?
Lee
--
Excellence does not require perfection. -- Henry James
--
Lee A. Hart https://www.sunrise-ev.com
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