Is it possible to import a North American Model X into the Netherlands

[Harvey Danger]

Where can I read about importing a North American Tesla?

I have read

Importing a car from a country outside the EU or EFTA

If you buy a car in a country that is not part of the EU/EFTA, apply for a Dutch license plate at the RDW test center in Lelystad.

www.rdw.nl

and

DUTCH APK VEHICLE TEST | ExpatINFO Holland

All vehicles registered in the Netherlands are subject to APK (road worthiness) testing. Here you can find out more about getting your car tested and where.

expatinfoholland.nl

Has anyone successfully imported a Tesla into the Netherlands or is it better to just sell the Tesla in the USA and try to get a different, Dutch Model X upon arrival?

I tried to translate some of the discussion in the thread below and I was not encouraged by what I saw:

APK

Ik zie dat mijn auto in november de eerste APK keuring moet ondergaan. Maar er zijn al auto's geleverd in augustus 2013. Die hebben dus als het goed is de eerste APK al gehad. Hoe ging dat? Uitstoot en geluid binnen de normen? ;) Waar hebben jullie de APK keuring laten uitvoeren, bij Tesla of...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[BjörnTM]

I don't think the US charge port is compatible with anything here actually.

 

[shthpnz]

My opinion: don’t think about it. Unless you are a masochist

No working navigation in EU, no OTA updates, you have to change rear blinkers, change frontlights and the lights below them, add rear mist lamp, change charging system. And even then you have no free charging anymore, and no guarantees.
Money wise: Please add transport in USA, add shipping to Rotterdam, add import tax, add BTW, add handling in harbour, add transport inside NL to workshop, add transport to RDW, add costs RDW, and finally accept very low resale price in EU.

My advise: buy a second hand one in The EU

 

[cousin_IT]

The proprietary charging port used by Tesla in the US is not available here. You might be able to use the CHaDeMo or more recent CCS1 adapter from the US for DC charging but that would still leave you without a charging option for home use. You might even need to swap the internal AC chargers, would require further research so I'd not recommend bringing it here. Oh and no 4G here too, and then there's the matter of Tesla willing to service your vehicle...

 

[wooter]

It's an interesting question because US military has ways to have their US spec car imported into Europe when they're stationed abroad, and the blinkers, front- and rear lights aren't an issue, and we have gasoline and diesel here aswel.

But in the case of a Tesla, it breaks down on software and charge port. The charge port in US spec Tesla's differs from the charge ports used in EU spec Tesla's, which means you can't use your US spec Tesla on any of the public slow charging, but also not on the Tesla supercharger network. Additionally, your US spec Tesla isn't equipped with a SIM card allowing EU roaming, and your US spec Tesla doesn't come with EU offline maps, so connectivity and navigation is unavailable.

Now, it is possible if you account for these issues. Back in 2018, someone shipped their US spec Model 3 to Europe for a tour, and he charged with a charging adapter on level 2 chargers.

 

[Harvey Danger]

Thanks everyone! Definitely sounds like I should not attempt this. It's not so much a matter of dealing with the paperwork, it's that the car itself won't function properly when it gets there. Thank you for helping me avoid a lot of frustration!

 

[Tozz]

Also.. Tesla doesn't service Out of Region cars and does not supply parts for it.

If it breaks down (for example the HV battery) you need to ship it back to the US to get Tesla to work on it.

 

[Andres Molina]

What about accessing the car through the app? Assuming that's a no go, since it needs data. I'm in Korea and Tesla here said I can buy my own SIM and they will install it, but I have to sign a waiver saying that they're not responsible if anything goes wrong. I really want app access, so that's the only reason to really do it. Even with a Korean SIM in my US Model 3, maps and navigation won't work.

Also, if I have a wifi hotspot in the car and connect the car to it, will that give me app access when I'm away from the car?

 

[Tozz]

App won't work without working data. So either WiFi or indeed another SIM card. And yes, a hotspot should work. Especially with recent firmware that allows you to configure a WiFi SSID as ' always on ' (normally the car disables WiFi when you switch to drive)

There are however some small differences in the allowed frequencies/channels for WiFi. So you might need to manually configure the hotspot to use certain channels.

 

[Andres Molina]

App won't work without working data. So either WiFi or indeed another SIM card. And yes, a hotspot should work. Especially with recent firmware that allows you to configure a WiFi SSID as ' always on ' (normally the car disables WiFi when you switch to drive)

There are however some small differences in the allowed frequencies/channels for WiFi. So you might need to manually configure the hotspot to use certain channels.

Well, that's at least a little good news. I'm glad you can have it always connected to wifi now.