Cost to Ship a Car from the UK to Nigeria in 2026

RORO shipping from Southampton or Tilbury to Lagos (Tin Can Island or Apapa Port) typically costs £950-£1,450 for a standard saloon or SUV. Container shipping is very common on this route, both for higher-value vehicles and because many shippers consolidate multiple cars into a single 40ft container to spread costs — expect £1,600-£2,600 for a shared container slot, or £2,800-£3,800 for a dedicated 20ft container. Use our cost calculator to compare RORO against container pricing for your specific vehicle.

RORO vessels from the UK to Lagos typically take 18-28 days, one of the shorter long-haul routes we handle due to relatively direct West Africa services from Southampton and Tilbury. Container shipments take a similar 20-30 days. Port congestion at Apapa and Tin Can Island has historically caused variable clearance times, so budget 10-20 working days for Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) processing, terminal handling and release, longer than the sailing time itself in many cases.

Nigeria bans the import of vehicles more than 12 years old, calculated from the year of manufacture, with age verified against the chassis/VIN and manufacture certificate. Vehicles exceeding this limit face outright seizure or forced re-export at the importer's cost, making it essential to verify manufacture year (not registration year) before purchase — a car first registered slightly later than it was built can inadvertently fall outside the window.

Nigerian import duty on passenger vehicles is 20%, plus a National Automotive Council (NAC) levy of up to 15% on cars (varying by vehicle type) and a 7% surcharge/ETLS component, alongside VAT at 7.5% applied cumulatively — combined effective rates commonly reach 35-45% of the CIF value for standard vehicles. Every import additionally requires a Form M, a mandatory pre-import registration lodged through a Nigerian bank via the Central Bank's trade portal, which must be obtained before the vehicle ships, not after — shipments without a valid Form M face significant delays or rejection at port. A £14,000 car with £1,300 freight might face roughly £5,500-£6,800 in combined duty, levy and VAT, so always factor this into your landed cost via our shipping costs guide.

You'll need the original V5C logbook, commercial invoice, bill of lading, Form M, a SONCAP (Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme) certificate confirming the vehicle meets Nigerian standards, and a valid PAAR (Pre-Arrival Assessment Report) generated once duty is calculated. Missing SONCAP documentation is one of the most common causes of port delays on this route, so we arrange this in advance for clients — contact us via our team to get the paperwork moving before your car ships.