As I'm very close to order my (probably MK Indy with 2.0 Duratec) kit; I contacted 2 official kitcar (Westfield) importers in Germany and Belgium to get some more legal info.

The guy in Germany answered this:

quote:

---

Hello Kris,
first of all: Kitcars are no longer registrable in Germany, most of the
birtish producers were never legal in Germany at all .
Westfield currently is the only Seven producer who has a homologated
product registrable in all Europe . All other producers will be hard to inpossible
to be registered in Belgium since the authorities require lots of documents
including the aproval of your car to meet the emissins required since 29.04.2009
Do yourself a favour - if you still and anyways want to build a car - to do this with the
guidance of a reputed distributor in Belgium .
The economical risk is major and should be addressed in writing .
Donīt start anything without a written statement that the car will pass the resgistration
in Belgium !
Kind regards

---

can't you register it in the UK and then import it as a registered vehicle into Belgium?

just build it and register it in england like everyone else does. im sure someone over here will let you use their address.

r u a uk national living in Belgium? or r u a Belgion (sp) national?

i was just thinking that if you were a uk national you could build the car in belgium and the get it registered in the uk, obviously it would involve shipping the car back to the uk and all the europeon postage on parts etc but if you bought it all in one go it might save you a bit of money?

would it be possible to build your car in belgium, to british IVA standards, somehow ship it over here for IVA test and get it road registerred and then export it to belgium using the DVLA paperwork (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - the people who deal with all things relating to vehicles and licensing)?

Then again, I'm not sure of the import procedures in belgium (vehicles being imported into britain go through IVA I think?) so it could just delay the problems you're all ready having maybe?

Hello,

Doesn't sound too encouraging does it

However I'm pretty sure there are other builders on this forum from Belgium and certainly from the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal etc. Worth asking how they have approached it.

IIRC some Spanish builders have built in Spain and then bought the car to the UK for test and registration. They then take the car back to Spain and re-register the already registered car locally - could this approach work for you?

Can't see why you can't just register it in uk, then export it??

Complicated, but, as I understood it, Westfield and Caterham are the only two companies with type approved cars that are EU approved. Again, even this is a grey area as, again - as far as I know/think - type approval is required for each model of car. Raw have an agent in Holland, so, unless they are used exclusively for racing, they may be worth speaking to. There are numerous european builders on this site to contact for info. It is something you need to investigate thuroughly first.

Hang on, werent the IVA regulations designed to meet EU standards??

" A vehicle subject to The Basic IVA Requirements is either :-
(a) a left hand drive vehicle;
(b) a personally imported vehicle;
(c) an amateur built vehicle;
(d) a vehicle manufactured in very low olume;
(e) a vehicle manufactured using parts of a registered vehicle;
(f) a rebuilt vehicle;
(g) a motor caravan as defined in Annex II.A of the 1970 Directive;
(h) an ambulance as defined in Annex II.A of the 1970 Directive;
(i) a hearse as defined in Annex II.A of the 1970 Directive; or
(j) an armoured vehicle as defined in Annex II.A of the 1970 Directive.
6
All other M1 vehicles are subject to The Normal IVA Requirements. This level of inspection requires documentary evidence to prove compliance with EC
Directives for up to 12 key areas as listed in the Normal IVA General requirements section. Compliance with alternative standards is acceptable where
specified. "

Breaker,

I couldnt work out if you were in Germany or Belgium, but the general consensus for registering in europe is generally to build to UK standards, register it in the UK, and export/import it to your country of residence.

This has a number of possible problems, the first is that you need to go through the British system, its harder when you don't have a UK address, but the manufacturers here and supporting workshops businesses will do it for you (at a cost.)

In addition, getting a LHD drive car registered is likely to be raise a bit more suspicion as I'm told there is active discrimination against foreign nationals using the SVa/IVA process as it was obviously designed to be a national scheme only, but this came from a company who imported sevens for a living so i took it with a bit of salt.

Although I lived in the UK when i built my locost, its now registered on dutch plates and it wasn't any harder to register it here than it was my tintop.

I've started building a fury and will go through IVA with that and export it (assuming I still live abroad) once its on the road, so don't let the IVA put you off.

Certainly in the Netherlands a lot of people use some creative methods to get a car on the road, some re badge a destroyed kit or a dutton and weld in the chassis number or other component, I can't comment on the legality of this but it does appear to at least work.

I also know of people in NL getting a kit on the road by registering it directly (ie no IVA/SVA) but it takes years, contacts, and the patience of a saint.

There is some talk of a dutch IVA coming soon, if your near the dutch border that might be an option if you register yourself at an address in the Netherlands for a short period of time to get your car registered then export it.

If you are nervous about getting it on the road, see if you can get friendly with the MK reseller (if there is one) in Belgium or some owners clubs in the region, http://www.kitcarclub.nl/ is active in the Netherlands, and has a lot of knowledge on importing from the UK.

There is also the Kaipan which is Type Approved for EU, http://www.kaipan.cz and is based on VAG running gear. This might be a pretty safe option if it really seems impossible for you to register it via IVA/sva.

No matter which way you go, there is a lot of bureaucracy involved, but after the first drive with your license plates you'll soon forget about all that.

Building one of these is not for the faint of heart. You can't let people stand in your way.

I am sure all the government people you talk to will say it can't be done (they do that here too, and there are several on the road in Quebec that I have heard of), because they don't know anything about it and don't want work for themselves.

Governments are not generally creative, and their workers like routine. This allows full relaxation on holidays that you pay for.

You may need to build your car, take it to the UK, sell it to someone in whose name you can take it to IVA, DVLA etc, buy it back, and take it back to Europe. Yes, it will be expensive, but get used to that.

No probs right?

[Edited on 29/6/09 by RK]

I'm sure there's a business opportunity here for someone in the UK - you do the legwork for european builders to get their build through IVA. Not sure of the legal implications but it could be a bit of an opportunity for someone

.... but that wouldn't be in the spirit of building would it

All dutch kitcars are SVA'd in England, there is only one kitcar that was a scratch-build that was tested in the netherlands.

Speedon(NL) could help you as well as John Knox(BE), speedon is RAW importer as well as Gardner Douglas and has many second/hand ones.

There are also a few Belgian kitcarīs on www.kitcarclub.nl there is a belgian forum for the SCC stylus, a fury style kit.
SSC Stylus forum

Of course on this very website someone with a LHD car has just asked how much it's worth as they're thinking of selling.....

Thanks guys for the tips, I'm feeling much more confident now !