Hello everyone!
Is it possible to ship my car to Taiwan and drive it as a tourist, on its British plates, for a period up to 6 months? Or is there a lower limit on the time allowed?
All this considering that the car has a valid MOT and insurance.
Regards,
Dan
Well, there is this
and
https://www.carseurope.net/carnet-de-passage-en-douanes-cpd/
which are the usual ways of doing that.
Taiwan does allow vehicles under the CPD arrangement from 41 countries:
https://about.taitra.org.tw/ATA-CPD-Carnets
more info at
å¤č²æåęę«åééčę„å-ē³č¾¦é ē„ (Chinese only)
Iām guessing you should not rely on government website information here. You would be best off partnering with a trusted (lol) import/export company or other inbound cargo handler to make sure what will be possible. what the law says may not work on the ground; or it may work with one company, but not another.
Also, there are likely to be weird difficulties if you transit ex-China, because to them Taiwan is NOT international, just forbidden fruit. Maybe by ship from Singapore? and be aware that Taiwan has terrible issues with RHD cars, like from Japan or Australia, so thatās another potential sticking point.
i think someone asked this same question 10 years ago? search for their experience
If your car is British standard as in right hand drive then the answer is essentially no.
Hi Eldrich, thank you for your answer. But if someone drives around the world in a British car, would not be allowed on Taiwan territory because it is a right hand drive?
Thank you very much for all the answers, I am very pleasantly surprised how quick people here are willing to help.
Taiwan drives on the right. It would be extremely dangerous to drive an RHD car in a right side country.
Especially in Taiwan where the scooters come from all around and people like to take dangerous shortcuts.
Iām usually first to defend Taiwan from overzealous pearl clutching, butā¦ driving an incompatible car? Thatās not a risk Iād want to take.
You would probably still be allowed to bring it here, you would not be allowed to drive it on Taiwan roads as it would not be to Taiwan standard ie left-hand drive.
I have seem a few (very few) RHD cars in Taiwan. I still wouldnāt drive one here though for the reasons @Marco mentioned above. Its one thing to cross the channel and drive one in Europe, but traffic in Taiwan is an entirely different experience - spend some time on YouTube and see how drivers behave here and you might rethink.
Then of course the costs of shipping your pride and joy to and from Taiwan would be rather expensive, fine of course if you have a generous employer, or your pockets are deep and well lined with cash.
Ah my original answer should be right then
I was going to say :
Short
Answer = No
Long
Answer = still No
Article 39 of āRoad traffic safety rulesā says
The items and benchmarks for automobile license inspection shall be in accordance with the following regulations:
3. The steering wheel should be on the left.
There seems to be some special cases that RHD cars can get a special (temporal) permit for events or diplomatic reasons, but for usual people, there may be no ways.
Hi Marco, thank you for your reply.
I drive frequently through Western and Eastern Europe in a RHD car, and I want you to know that is not dangerous at all. I am finding driving a RHD car on the right side of the road easier than a LHD, and that is because I am so used to it.
I have also driven in Taipei and out of Taipei in LHD car, and I have to say that the traffic in Taiwan is a lot better than some other places in Europe. It seems more organised and drivers seem to be more considerate. One very important thing to me is using the signal, and I was impressed with the fact that in Taiwan almost everyone signals, including taxi drivers. This is not happening in UK.
Yes, I noticed the scooters, but I donāt find them dangerous, they are aware of the cars and the other way around. Somehow the traffic is fluent.
A RHD car is not an incompatible car, in the right hands is a perfectly safe car.
I only want to drive through Taiwan for a limited period of time, as a tourist, and not to register the car over there. I thought that is possible in any country in the world.
There are LHD cars registered in UK, and driving in UK, as there are RHD cars in other countries in Europe, also registered over there. I have a classic American car, which is a LHD and is registered in UK. Last time I drove it was this weekend.
I found Taiwan to be a very civilised and democratic country and I find it difficult to understand why they wouldnāt allow it.
Maybe 90% of cars signal 1m before the turn. You sure youāre not Š° time-traveler and you didnāt visit Taiwan in 2037?
The problem is that you canāt see as well as you can in an LHD car and with Taiwanās winding and narrow and congested roads, it can be dangerous for you and for others here. It increases your chances of you being stuck with a liability.
If youāre only here for a limited time, hire a car or buy a cheapo throwaway car. Itās cheaper, itās safer for both you and other people, itās far easier than the headache of importing then exporting a car.
I agree, but itās still for your safety and your liability.
This
Taiwan does do long holidays ā¦ā¦like 20 years
For the most part 99.9% of visitors fly here, there are very very limited options for coming here on a ship and even less on a ferry - I think just 2-3 routes to/from Mainland China and most of those go via a small island in between. These ferryās are suspended at the moment anyway and its not sure they will restart. Itās just ānot doneā to bring a car to Taiwan as a visitor, its exceptionally hard to bring one in unless it via a container and so why would they have a system for something that essentially never happens?
Come over here, rent a car itāll be fun.
OK at this point I am assuming you are joking. Everyone signals in Taiwan?? I find < 20% do whereas in the UK I find > 80% do.
And here in the Bay Area as soon as you signal the other guy speeds up or stays blocking your ability to change lanes
I had to teach the wife to slam on brakes where
Safe and tuck in behind people. Rather than go in front of them