Exporting used cars from the UK to South Africa

Question

Hi

I am looking to export used cars to South Africa.
The port would be J’bourg.
Could anyone point me in the right direction on how to get started.
Does anyone know of any contacts in SA that are interested in used cars exported from the UK, or are there any contacts that use this site from SA.
I have looked into cars4africa for the shipping and relevant paperwork.
Is there any information on cutting out this ‘middle man’?

Thanks for your time and I look forward to your replies.

Steve

Answer

Hi Steve,

To answer your question firstly there is no Port in Johannesburg all goods going into Johannesburg go into the port of Durban where they are then sent by rail to Johannesburg ICD for clearance. You have two options of shipping cars (and we as a freight forwarder do both) and that is Ro-Ro or Containerised. Ro-Ro you have to deliver vehicles to the UK Port of export (Tilbury / Southampton / Felixstowe or London Gateway) or for container shipments we receive vehicles into our depot in Grays, Essex for loading and securing. There is a difference is costings and I would be happy to assist you with quotations on this.
Documentation wise, because of the issues with stolen vehicles being exported out of the UK over the last 10 years you will need to produce to us/carrier a clear and readable copy of the vehicles V5 Document, Copy of any HPI Free Confirmation, full details of Exporter (If private individual you will need a copy of the photo page part of your/their passport) Full details of Consignee. Once we have all of this and the local Port Police confirm vehicle is free to go us/carriers will ship them.

You can try doi8ng this on your own without a freight forwarder but unless you know the avenues to go down, have a load depot to load out of, can cover HMRC entries then you really need to use a freight forwarder, plus freight forwarders will get a far lower rate of freight than a private individual because of volumes they export/import.

If I can help you further my details are below, we offer weekly services to Johannesburg, have our own old established agents down there to assist with clearance and deliveries as well.

Best Regards
Ian Robery
Business Development Manager
STI Global Logistics Ltd
Unit 1 Lords Court
Cricketers Way
Basildon Essex SS13 1SS
Tel: +44 (0)1268 289653
Mobile: +44 (0)7554 117585
Fax: +44 (0)1268 289649
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stigl.co.uk

Answer

Steve,

The importation laws in South Africa are pretty strict to protect the local manufacturers. Have you fully researched what you need to do to get import permits ?

http://www.services.gov.za/services/content/Home/OrganisationServices/Import/Importusedvehicle/en_ZA

What part of the middleman process are you trying to eliminate ? Its not entirely clear from your post.

If you provide more info I can try to help. My company has exported to South Africa in the past and currently exports to Kenya and Uganda

Jason

Answer

Hi Steve

Further heads up on what Jason mentioned, my Agents in Johannesburg have confirmed the following:

An import permit is needed prior to shipment, for anything second hand coming into the country and you can do either Ro/Ro or containers.

therefore before you load and ship ensure that your buyer has the right permit to Import vehicles, otherwise there will be major complications when they arrive.

Best Regards

Ian Robery
STI Global Logistics

Export Action Plan