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  LIST OF NONCONFORMING MOTOR VEHICLES

THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR IMPORTATION

    (BY OR THROUGH A REGISTERED IMPORTER)

       as of January 8, 2007

 

Under 49 U.S.C. § 30112(a), a person may not permanently import into the United States a motor vehicle manufactured after the date that an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) takes effect unless the vehicle complies with the standard and is so certified by its original manufacturer.  This prohibition applies to both new and used motor vehicles, but does not apply to motor vehicles that are at least 25 years old.

 

Under one of the exceptions to this prohibition, found in 49 U.S.C. § 30141, a motor vehicle that was not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable FMVSS can be lawfully imported into the United States, provided it is determined eligible for importation by NHTSA, and is imported by a registered importer, or by a person who has a contract with a registered importer to bring the vehicle into compliance with all applicable FMVSS following importation.  Import eligibility decisions can be made either on the initiative of the Administrator or on the petition of a manufacturer or registered importer.  One basis for determining a motor vehicle eligible for importation is that it 1) is substantially similar to a motor vehicle of the same model year that was manufactured for sale in the United States and certified by its manufacturer as complying with all applicable FMVSS and 2) is capable of being readily altered to comply with all applicable FMVSS.  See 49 U.S.C. § 30141(a)(1)(A).  Where there is no substantially similar U.S.-certified motor vehicle of the same model year, a vehicle can only be determined eligible for importation if its safety features comply with, or are capable of being altered to comply, with all applicable FMVSS based on destructive test information or other evidence NHTSA decides is adequate.  See 49 U.S.C. § 30141(a)(1)(B). 

 

Vehicles that have been determined eligible for importation are assigned a vehicle eligibility number.  All eligibility numbers are for left-hand drive motor vehicles except where the initials “RHD,” signifying right-hand drive, appear in the model type column.  While there is no specific restriction on importing a right-hand drive vehicle, these may not be imported under eligibility decisions based on the existence of substantially similar U.S.-certified left-hand drive vehicles. Our experience has shown that the safety performance of right-hand drive vehicles is not necessarily the same as that of apparently similar left-hand drive vehicles offered for sale in this country.  However, we will consider the vehicles "substantially similar" if the manufacturer advises us that the right-hand drive vehicle would perform the same as the U.S.-certified left-hand drive vehicle in dynamic crash tests.  Absent such a showing, the RI would have to demonstrate (through a petition) that the vehicle, when modified, would comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards, including those for which dynamic crash testing is prescribed.

 

Each vehicle on the following list is followed by a vehicle eligibility number. The importer of a vehicle admissible under any eligibility decision must write the appropriate eligibility number on the Form HS‑7 accompanying entry to indicate that the vehicle is eligible for importation.

 

This list also includes the Department of Transportation (DOT) docket number(s) associated with each eligibility decision, so that any person wishing to obtain from the DOT Docket Management System (DMS) a copy of the petition or other associated documents can do so.  The docket number for each entry is comprised of three parts: the agency designation, the publication year, and a sequence number that uniquely identifies each docket. 

 

·                    If the sequence number is in the “Simple Search” column, a copy of the associated documents can be obtained online from the Department of Transportation’s DMS.  To do so, visit http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchFormSimple.cfm and enter on the appropriate screen the number appearing in the “Simple Search” column, not the entire Docket number.  Online access is available for most notices published after November 9, 1997.

·                    If the sequence number is in the “Not Online” column, please visit the Technical Information Services (TIS) website at http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/trd .  Contact information for assistance in obtaining documents not found on-line can be found at http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/trd/#TIS .

 

"VSA" eligibility numbers are assigned to all vehicles that are decided to be eligible for importation on the initiative of the Administrator.

 

"VSP" eligibility numbers are assigned to vehicles that are decided to be eligible under 49 U.S.C. § 30141(a)(1)(A), based on a petition from a manufacturer or registered importer which establishes that a substantially similar U.S.‑certified vehicle exists.

 

"VCP" eligibility numbers are assigned to vehicles that are decided to be eligible under 49 U.S.C. § 30141(a)(1)(B), based on a petition from a manufacturer or registered importer which establishes that the vehicle has safety features that comply with, or are capable of being altered to comply with, all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards.

 

All hyphens used in the Model Year(s) column mean “through” (for example, “1981-1989” means “1981 through 1989”). 

 

The initials “MC” used in the Model Type column mean “motorcycle.”

 

The initials “SWB” used in the Model Type column mean “Short Wheel Base.”

 

The initials “LWB” used in the Model Type column mean “Long Wheel Base.”

 

For vehicles with a European country of origin, the term “Model Year” ordinarily means calendar year in which the vehicle was produced.

 

All vehicles are left-hand-drive (LHD) vehicles unless noted as RHD.  The initials “RHD” used in the Model Type column mean “Right-Hand-Drive.”

VEHICLES CERTIFIED BY THEIR ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER AS COMPLYING

WITH ALL APPLICABLE CANADIAN MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS

 

Import

Eligibility

Number

 

Descriptions of Eligible Vehicles

Docket Number

NHTSA-Year

Simple Search

Not Online

VSA‑80

 

 

 

(a) All passenger cars less than 25 years old that were manufactured before September 1, 1989;

NHTSA-2002

12937

96-114

(b) All passenger cars manufactured on or after September 1, 1989, and before September 1, 1996, that, as originally manufactured, are equipped with an automatic restraint system that complies with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208;

 

 

 

(c) All passenger cars manufactured on or after September 1, 1996, and before September 1, 2002, that, as originally manufactured, are equipped with an automatic restraint system that complies with FMVSS No. 208, and that comply with FMVSS No. 214;

 

 

 

(d) All passenger cars manufactured on or after September 1, 2002, and before September 1, 2007, that, as originally manufactured, are equipped with an automatic restraint system that complies with FMVSS No. 208, and that comply with FMVSS Nos. 201, 214, 225, and 401.

 

 

 

VSA‑81

(a) All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less that are less than 25 years old and that were manufactured before September 1, 1991;

NHTSA-2002

12937

96-114

(b) All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less that were manufactured on and after September 1, 1991, and before September 1, 1993 and that, as originally manufactured, comply with FMVSS Nos. 202 and 208.

 

 

 

(c) All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less that were manufactured on or after September 1, 1993, and before September 1, 1998, and that, as originally manufactured, comply with FMVSS Nos. 202, 208, and 216;

 

 

 

(d) All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less that were manufactured on or after September 1, 1998, and before September 1, 2002, and that, as originally manufactured, comply with FMVSS Nos. 202, 208, 214, and 216;

 

 

 

(e) All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less that were manufactured on or after September 1, 2002, and before September 1, 2007, and that, as originally manufactured, comply with FMVSS Nos. 201, 202, 208, 214, and 216, and, insofar as it is applicable, with FMVSS No. 225.

 

 

 

VSA‑82

All multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses with a GVWR greater than 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) that are less than 25 years old.

NHTSA-2002

12937

96-114

VSA‑83

All trailers and motorcycles less than 25 years old.

NHTSA-2002

12937

96-114

 


 

ALL OTHER VEHICLES

 

Manufacturer

Model Type(s)

Body

Model Year(s)

Import Eligibility Number

Docket Number

VSP

VSA

VCP

NHTSA-Year

Simple Search

Not online

Acura

Legend

 

1990-1992

305

 

 

NHTSA-1999
NHTSA-1999

5580
6623

 

Acura

Legend

 

1989

77

 

 

 

 

94-44

Acura

Legend

 

1988

51

 

 

 

 

93-70

Alfa Romeo

164

 

1994

156

 

 

 

 

95-99

Alfa Romeo

164

 

1991

76

 

 

 

 

94-43

Alfa Romeo

164

 

1989

196

 

 

 

 

96-125

Alfa Romeo

GTV

 

1985

124

 

 

 

 

95-34

Alfa Romeo

Spider

 

1987

70

 

 

 

 

94-24

Aston Martin

Vanquish

 

2002-2004

430

 

 

NHTSA-2004
NTHSA-2004

16999
17942

 

Audi

80

 

1988-1989

223

 

 

NHTSA-1997

3164

 

Audi

100

 

1993

244

 

 

NHTSA-1998

3803

 

Audi

100

 

1990-1992

317

 

 

NHTSA-1999
NHTSA-2000

6339
7436

 

Audi

100

 

1989

93

 

 

 

 

94-82

Audi

200 Quattro

 

1985

160

 

 

 

 

96-34

Audi

A4

 

1996-2000

352

 

 

NHTSA-2000
NHTSA-2000

7387
8598

 

Audi

A4, RS4, S4

8D

2000-2001

400

 

 

NHTSA-2002

11847

 

Audi

A6

 

1998-1999

332

 

 

NHTSA-1999
NHTSA-2000

6038
7436

 

Audi

A8

 

2000

424

 

 

NHTSA-2003

16334

 

Audi

A8

 

1997-2000

337

 

 

NHTSA-1999
NHTSA-2000

6820
7436

 

Audi

Avant Quattro

 

1996

238

 

 

NHTSA-1998

3593

 

Audi

RS6 & RS Avant

 

2003

443

 

 

NHTSA-2003

17672

 

Audi

S6

 

1996

428

 

 

NHTSA-2003
NHTSA-2004

16720
17942

 

Audi

S8

 

2000

424

 

 

NHTSA-2003

16334

 

Audi

TT

 

2000-2001

364

 

 

NHTSA-2001
NHTSA-2001

9560
11165

 

Bentley

Azure

(LHD & RHD)

 

1998

485

 

 

NHTSA-2006

NHTSA-2006

25516

26072

 

Bentley

Arnage (manufactured 1/1/01-12/31/01)

 

2001

473

 

 

NHTSA-2005

22644

 

Bimota (MC)

DB4

 

2000

397

 

 

NHTSA-2002
NHTSA-2002

13382
13986

 

Bimota (MC)

SB8

 

1999-2000

397

 

 

NHTSA-2002
NHTSA-2002

13382
13986

 

BMW

316

 

1986

25

 

 

 

 

92-54

BMW

316

 

1981-1982

 

66

 

 

 

90-01-VE-No.05

BMW

3 Series

 

2003-2004

487

 

 

NHTSA-2006

26010

 

BMW

3 Series

 

2001

379

 

 

NHTSA-2002
NHTSA-2002

11881
13220

 

BMW

3 Series

 

2000

356