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Importing your Alfa Romeo to the United Kingdom
We're here to help at any stage of your Alfa Romeo's importation into the UK.
- Fast Track DVLA registration
- First & longest privately held IVA lane in the UK
- EU & Non EU Vehicle Experts
- Worldwide Container Shipping Network
Who we are
We are experts
My Car Import has decades of experience importing cars and we're the first privately owned IVA testing facility in the United Kingdom.
Oh, and we love an Alfa Romeo.
What we handle
We import cars of all types
As 'door-to-door registration specialists, we can collect your car from anywhere in the world and organise registration for you. We'll also handle the shipping process and modifications,
There are numerous rules surrounding the importation of cars. That's why we've added a large amount of information on this website to help you understand how the import process works.
Certificate of Conformity
Does your Alfa Romeo need a Certificate of Conformity?
A Certificate of Conformity is the manufacturer’s own statement that a car was built to a European type approval. For a late model Alfa Romeo coming from an EU country it is usually the quickest route to UK plates, because it proves the car already meets the standard and removes the need for an individual test.
It is not the right route for every car. An Alfa built before type approval existed, a car that has been modified, or one imported from outside Europe will normally go down the IVA route instead, and a genuinely historic Alfa is registered on its date of build rather than on a certificate at all.
Tell us the year, the model and where the car is, and we will tell you which of those three it is before you spend anything.
What is a Certificate of Conformity?
What a Certificate of Conformity actually proves, when your Alfa Romeo needs one, what it costs and how long it takes to get.
Testing and registration
A door to door experience
The route to registration will depend on the age of your Alfa Romeo and where it's located.
We recommend filling out our quotation form which will outline the process specifically for your Alfa.
Please note that the quotation form is the fastest and most accurate way to get a quote. If you have any questions in the meantime, don't hesitate to call a member of our team.
Background
What is the history of Alfa Romeo?
Alfa Romeo is an Italian car maker founded in Milan in 1910, best known for its Grand Prix and sports car racing record and for a run of driver focused road cars built around light bodies and twin cam engines. It has been through state ownership, Fiat ownership and now sits inside Stellantis.
1910 – 1932Milan and the racing years
- 1910
A.L.F.A., the Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, was founded in Milan on 24 June, taking over the assets of the failing Italian arm of the French maker Darracq. Its first car, the 24 HP, was designed by Giuseppe Merosi.
- 1911
The company entered two 24 HP cars in the Targa Florio, beginning a competition programme that has run, on and off, ever since.
- 1915
The Neapolitan engineer and businessman Nicola Romeo took control of the company and switched it to military production for the First World War.
- 1920
The firm was renamed Alfa Romeo. The Torpedo 20–30 HP was the first car to carry the new name.
- 1923
Vittorio Jano was recruited from Fiat as chief designer. His engines and chassis underpinned Alfa’s most successful competition period.
- 1925
The Alfa Romeo P2 won the first world championship for Grand Prix cars.
1933 – 1986State ownership and mass production
- 1933
The Italian state holding company IRI took control of Alfa Romeo. In the same period the works racing effort was contracted out to Enzo Ferrari’s Scuderia Ferrari, which ran it until 1938.
- 1950 & 1951
Giuseppe Farina won the first Formula One World Championship in the Alfa Romeo 158, and Juan Manuel Fangio took the 1951 title in the 159. Alfa then withdrew from Grand Prix racing.
- 1954
The Giulietta range brought Alfa’s twin cam four cylinder engine to a much wider market. Versions of that engine family stayed in production into the 1990s.
- 1963
The Giulia saloon was launched. The Giulia TI Super was the first Alfa road car to carry the quadrifoglio, the four leaf clover.
- 1971 & 1972
The Alfasud was shown in 1971 and entered production at the new Pomigliano d’Arco plant near Naples, the first Alfa Romeo passenger car built outside Milan.
- 1986
IRI sold Alfa Romeo to the Fiat Group after thirteen years without a profit. Ford had also bid, and the decision was politically contested at the time.
1986 – todayFiat, FCA and Stellantis
- 1995
Alfa Romeo stopped exporting to the United States, the 164 being the last model sold there. The brand returned in stages from 2008 with the 8C Competizione and then the 4C.
- 2016 & 2017
The rear wheel drive Giulia saloon and the Stelvio SUV launched on a new platform, marking Alfa’s return to rear wheel drive in a mainstream model.
- 2021
FCA and Groupe PSA merged on 16 January to form Stellantis, and Alfa Romeo became a Stellantis brand.
- 2024
The new small crossover was announced as the Milano and renamed Junior within days, after the Italian government objected that an Italian place name could not be used on a car built in Poland.
For an importer the useful part of that history is the shape of the surviving fleet. The cars we are asked about most are either 1960s and 1970s Milanese cars that went abroad and survived better than the ones that stayed, or modern cars that Alfa only ever built in left hand drive.
The cars
The Alfa Romeos we are asked about most
Which one yours is changes the route, the paperwork and the cost. If it is not on this list, call us — it does not mean we have not done it.
- 105 and 115 series Giulia coupés and Spiders (1963–1993) — imported from Italy, Spain, southern France, California and Japan for sound bodies. UK survivors are scarce and usually far more corroded.
- 4C and 4C Spider (2013–2020) — built in left hand drive only, so every UK car is an import whatever route it took.
- SZ and RZ (1989–1994) — very low volume Zagato bodied cars, left hand drive only, so any UK example has been imported.
- Japanese market 155, 156, GTV and Spider — Japan was a significant right hand drive Alfa market. These come in for low mileage and dry climate bodywork rather than rarity.
- Giulia GTA and GTAm (2020–2022) — a 500 car run with a small UK allocation, so left hand drive European cars are imported to meet demand.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Anything specific to your Alfa Romeo, just call us — no two cars are the same.
How long does it take to import and register an Alfa Romeo in the United Kingdom?
While we'd love to offer a specific import timeline, it isn't that straightforward. The time it takes can vary depending on several factors, including the specific circumstances and the processes involved.
What we can tell you is the part we control: we hold a service level agreement with the DVLA to register imported passenger cars within 10 working days, and we test on our own private lane rather than waiting for a DVSA slot somewhere else.
Fill out a quote form and we will set out the route for your car specifically.
Can you register a left hand drive Alfa Romeo in the UK?
Yes. A left hand drive car can be registered in the United Kingdom and there is no legal requirement to convert it. What does have to be right is the lighting and, on some cars, the speedometer, which is part of what we do in our own workshop before the car is tested.
My Alfa Romeo is over thirty years old. Does that change anything?
It changes the tax and it usually changes the route. A vehicle over thirty years old and of historic interest attracts 5% import VAT and no import duty, and it is normally registered on its date of build with an age related plate rather than going through an individual test.
Related
What the import involves
The paperwork, the testing and the route your Alfa Romeo takes to UK plates.
- Certificate of ConformityWhat a CoC is, when your Alfa needs one, and how we get it for you.
- Date of build lettersHow a historic Alfa gets an age related plate instead of a test.
- DVLA registrationTen working days from a passed test to UK plates.
- Importing from ItalyWhere most Alfas come from, and what that route involves.