As NAATA members are aware, some U.S. states have passed legislation to protect franchised dealers from being punished by their manufacturers when vehicles ultimately end up being exported from the United States.  Florida passed a law a few years ago protecting dealers from chargebacks if the manufacturer does not have proof the dealer had actual […]

When vehicles are purchased in the United States for export, either to Canada or overseas, some buyers pay sales tax on those vehicles.  Exporters would very much like to have a refund of those taxes on the basis that the vehicles have been exported.  However, there are legislative and policy restrictions on state sales tax […]

BMW is being investigated by the Swiss competi tion authority for blocking European sales to Swiss residents.   Consumers in Switzerland were allegedly prevented from buying BMW vehicles in other countries where prices were less expensive.  BMW is currently facing a lawsuit in Canada related to Canadian importers who bought BMW vehicles in the United States at lower prices.    Read more about […]

With the civil war in Sri Lanka finally drawing to a close, and with major duty reductions, luxury car sales and parallel vehicle import into the country are thriving.  Sri Lanka has an active parallel import market because official distributors often have difficulty getting product to market in a timely manner.  Parallel importers can often beat long […]

As knowledgable vehicle exporters and importers are aware, trademark control is an important issue in determining whether an importer has the right to bring a vehicle into a country and sell it.  There is a legal concept known as “trademark exhaustion”.  The right of an importer to sell is dependent upon when a manufacturer’s trademark rights are “exhausted”, […]

The volume of vehicles going north across the Canada – United States border continues at a strong pace.  In the first half of 2010, 89,523 vehicles were imported into Canada through the RIV program.  Monthly totals are approaching levels previously seen in 2007, a high volume import year. Volume of imports into the United States from […]

The Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario has advised that some dealers have been turned away at U.S. border crossings when driving vehicles with dealer plates. Download notice on crossing the border with dealer plates.