Buy a German car, delivered to Côte d'Ivoire.

Getting your car to Côte d'Ivoire

Entry point: Port of Abidjan.
How it travels: By sea. RoRo or container from Bremerhaven or Hamburg, insured and tracked to the port.

The German half is the same for every destination outside the EU: we buy the car, arrange an independent inspection if you want one, register the export plates, file the ATLAS customs declaration and collect the exit confirmation that releases the 19% German VAT. You receive that file — contract, declaration and proof of exit — because your customs authority will ask for it.

What applies across ECOWAS

Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire all sit inside the ECOWAS customs area, and the regional directive matters more than any single national rule. Since 2021 vehicles imported into ECOWAS states have had to meet Euro 4 emission standards, and the directive sets a 10-year age limit for used light vehicles.

In practice enforcement differs by country: Ghana applies the ten-year limit directly, while Nigeria does not enforce a strict cut-off but subjects vehicles over roughly fifteen years to heavier scrutiny and cost. We check the emission class on the registration document before we buy, because a car that fails Euro 4 is a car that cannot be landed.

What we need to start

• A listing link from mobile.de or AutoScout24, or a specification if you want us to search.
• Your destination city, so we can price delivery beyond Port of Abidjan.
• Whether you are buying privately or as a company — it changes the paperwork and often the cost.

Sources

Public references for the rules above. Requirements change — we confirm the current position for every car we handle.

• UNEP — used vehicles exported to Africa
• Vehicle regulations in Africa and their effect on used-vehicle imports
• World Economic Forum — used car exports to Africa

Other markets in Africa

• Benin
• Ghana
• Libya
• Morocco
• Nigeria
• Senegal