Car Shipping to France
from the United Kingdom
France is easily accessible from the UK with both RORO and container options. The Ship Cars offers competitive rates to Le Havre, Marseille, and other French ports with transit times as short as 2–3 days. View our shipping services or request a quote.
Quick answer: car shipping to France from the UK
Shipping a car from the UK to France is priced per vehicle and route — request a free quote for a fixed price. 2–5 days to Le Havre/Calais. Both RORO and container shipping are available, with vehicles arriving at Le Havre, Marseille, Calais and 1 more port. The Ship Cars, the vehicle shipping agent of Ascope Shipping Services LTD, handles UK collection, export paperwork and customs documentation end to end.
Shipping to France: cars, trucks, machinery and import rules
Information reviewed September 2026. Always confirm final rules with the official authority before shipping.
Car shipping from the UK to France
Quick answer: Cars ship from UK ports to Le Havre, Marseille, Calais, Dunkirk in about 2–5 days to Le Havre/Calais. Prices depend on vehicle size and method — see our car shipping costs.
Choose RORO shipping for the lowest price on running vehicles, or container shipping for extra protection and personal effects. Specialist options include classic car shipping and electric vehicle shipping.
Estimate your price with the cost calculator or check upcoming departures on the RORO sailing schedule.
Truck and commercial vehicle shipping to France
Quick answer: Trucks, lorries, vans and pickups usually ship by RORO to Le Havre, Marseille, Calais, Dunkirk, priced by length, height and weight (per cubic metre). Transit is about 2–5 days to Le Havre/Calais.
- Exact length, width, height and gross weight required for a quote
- Running and non-running trucks accepted (towing / crane loading arranged)
- Tanks drained, loose items removed, V5C and export declaration needed
- Check France age and emissions limits for commercial vehicles before buying
Read more: truck shipping service, commercial vehicle shipping and our guide to shipping a truck from the UK.
Machinery and plant shipping to France
Quick answer: Excavators, tractors, forklifts and agricultural equipment ship as RORO or break-bulk cargo to Le Havre, Marseille, Calais, Dunkirk. Machinery must be clean and free of soil — most countries, including France, inspect for biosecurity.
- Tracked machines loaded on MAFI trailers or flat-racks
- Professional washing and fumigation certificates where required
- Dimensions and weight drive the price — oversize cargo quoted individually
- Commercial invoice and proof of ownership needed for customs
See our heavy machinery shipping service and customs clearance support.
France vehicle import rules (September 2026)
- Post-Brexit, UK vehicles require EU type approval or DREAL homologation.
- Import duty 10% plus 20% TVA (French VAT).
- Registration with French plates (carte grise) required.
- Vehicles must pass the contrôle technique inspection.
Documents required
- V5C registration
- Passport
- Commercial invoice
- Bill of Lading
- Certificate of Conformity
- Contrôle technique report
UK side: notify the DVLA with the V5C export notification, and see documents required and vehicle age restrictions by country.
Official France & UK government resources
Always confirm current customs, duty and vehicle registration rules with the official authorities before you ship.
Shipping a vehicle to France?
Tell us your vehicle and collection address and we'll send a fixed all-in price for France, usually within one working day.
- No obligation
- UK-wide collection
- RORO & container options
Methods
RORO & Container
Transit Time
2–5 days to Le Havre/Calais
Ports
Le Havre, Marseille +2
Starting From
£400
Overview
France is easily accessible from the UK with both RORO and container options. The Ship Cars offers competitive rates to Le Havre, Marseille, and other French ports with transit times as short as 2–3 days.
Shipping Methods
RORO and container shipping available. RORO is most popular for its speed and cost-effectiveness. Channel crossings via short-sea RORO also available.
Transit Time
2–5 days to Le Havre/Calais. 5–8 days to Marseille (Mediterranean coast).
Import Regulations
Post-Brexit, UK vehicles require EU type approval or DREAL homologation. Import duty 10% plus 20% TVA (French VAT). Registration with French plates (carte grise) required. Vehicles must pass the contrôle technique inspection.
Documents Required
- V5C registration
- Passport
- Commercial invoice
- Bill of Lading
- Certificate of Conformity
- Contrôle technique report
Costs & Fees
RORO from £400–£800. Container from £1,000–£1,500. Import duty 10%. TVA 20%. Registration fees vary by region.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can I ship a car to France?
Do I need to convert my car to left-hand drive for France?
How long does it take to ship a car from the UK to France?
Which UK ports do you ship from to France?
What documents do I need to ship a car to France?
What shipping methods are available from the UK to France?
How much does it cost to ship a car from the UK to France?
Available Ports
Why ship a car to France from the UK
The Ship Cars is a specialist UK vehicle export company moving cars, SUVs, classics, motorbikes and light commercials to France every month. Post-Brexit Europe is still the lowest-friction export market for British-registered vehicles, with weekly RORO frequency, mature customs brokerage and predictable inland trucking once the vehicle clears the destination port. Typical clients on this lane include EU-based dealers sourcing British stock, alongside private owners relocating to France and returning residents importing a personal vehicle. Our UK-to-France corridor is engineered around predictable transit, transparent pricing and full compliance with France customs.
Vehicles depart from Liverpool, Tilbury, Immingham and arrive at Le Havre, Marseille, Calais and 1 more port via short-sea Channel and North Sea routings. Typical door-to-port turnaround is 2–5 days to le havre/calais, supported by marine all-risks insurance, GPS-tracked UK collection and bonded warehousing where required. For an instant indication of cost, use our car shipping cost calculator or request a tailored quote on our quote page.
How UK to France car shipping works
Every shipment to France follows the same six-step pipeline: free quotation, UK collection or self-drop at Liverpool, bonded UK warehousing and pre-shipment photos, HMRC NOVA / C88 export clearance handled by our UK customs clearance team, ocean transit to Le Havre (and onward feeder to Marseille where required), and destination customs handover. You choose the shipping mode that best matches the vehicle profile and budget — see the full breakdown on our car shipping costs page or compare live RORO sailing dates to France.
RORO to France
Roll-on/Roll-off is the lowest-cost method for running, road-legal vehicles bound for France. Drive-on at the UK port, drive-off at Le Havre. RORO shipping to France — check the weekly RORO schedule.
Container to France
20ft sole-use or 40ft dedicated containers give classic, high-value, modified or non-running vehicles fully enclosed protection on the route to Marseille. Dedicated container shipping to France.
France ports, routing and transit
Vehicles bound for France are typically routed through Le Havre as the lead discharge port, with Marseille, Calais, Dunkirk available as alternatives depending on sailing schedule and onward inland transport. We schedule loads to match weekly RORO sailing schedules to France and book 20ft and 40ft container slots on the same rotation.
- Port of Le Havre
- Port of Marseille
- Port of Calais
- Port of Dunkirk
- UK departure: Southampton
- UK departure: Tilbury
- UK departure: Bristol (Portbury)
France import duty, VAT and customs in 2026
Importing a vehicle into France is regulated and document-driven. The headline framework is summarised below; our team verifies every figure against the latest France customs schedule before quoting.
- EU type approval and Certificate of Conformity (CoC)
- Post-Brexit 10% import duty and country-specific VAT (TVA, IVA, MwSt, BTW)
- National roadworthiness inspections (ITV, contrôle technique, TÜV, APK, IPO)
- Re-registration with local plates and CO2-based road tax
Document checklist for France
- V5C registration
- Passport
- Commercial invoice
- Bill of Lading
- Certificate of Conformity
- Contrôle technique report
For full country-specific customs rules, see our France import guides and articles, our UK and France customs clearance service, or use the duty-inclusive cost calculator for a landed estimate to Le Havre.
Who ships to France
- • Returning France residents and dual nationals
- • UK expats relocating to France
- • Europe car dealers and France re-exporters
- • Private collectors and classic-car enthusiasts
- • Diplomatic missions and corporate fleets
- • Online auction buyers (Copart, BCA, Manheim)
Vehicles we ship to France
- • Saloons, hatchbacks and family cars
- • SUVs, 4x4s and pickups (Land Rover, Range Rover, Toyota, Nissan)
- • Luxury and executive vehicles (Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi)
- • Performance and supercars (McLaren, Aston Martin, Porsche, Ferrari)
- • Classic and historic vehicles (pre-1990 with HMRC NOVA exemption)
- • Motorbikes, scooters and quad bikes
- • Vans, light commercials and motorhomes
- • Electric and hybrid vehicles (EV battery documentation supported)
Why exporters choose The Ship Cars for France
• Specialist UK-to-France corridor with weekly capacity
• Marine all-risks insurance and bonded UK warehousing
• HMRC NOVA, C88, EORI and DVLA V5C export handled in-house
• Transparent UK to France pricing with no hidden destination fees
• Direct relationships with Le Havre agents
• Dedicated account manager from booking to delivery
Related services and tools for shipping to France
Shipping methods
Pricing & schedules
Guides & comparisons
Other Europe destinations from the UK
We ship to 8+ other Europe countries from the UK on the same trade lanes as France. Many customers shipping to France also enquire about Spain, Germany, Belgium because routing, customs documentation and transit windows overlap.
Get an instant quote for car shipping to France
Our France corridor team responds through the online quote form with port pairing, container availability and indicative duty in a single reply.