- Traffic side
- Left, like the UK
- Steering
- Right-hand drive
- Headlights
- Not scrutinised
- Usual jobs
- Speedo and fog light
If you have ever looked into importing a car from the United States or mainland Europe, you will have come across a long list of modifications. Headlights that dip the wrong way, indicators in the wrong colour, speedometers in the wrong units, and sometimes much more.
Fear not. A Hong Kong car skips most of that, for one simple reason.
Same side of the road
Hong Kong drives on the left. Cars there are right-hand drive, the steering wheel is where you expect it, and the controls are laid out for the same traffic flow as ours.
That matters more than it sounds. The biggest compliance headaches with imported cars come from vehicles built for driving on the right. Headlight beam patterns are the classic example, because a left-hand traffic car dips its lights towards the kerb on the left, away from oncoming drivers. A car built for right-hand traffic does the opposite and dazzles everyone coming the other way.
A Hong Kong car is already set up correctly. It means the car you load in Kwai Tsing is, in all the ways that count most, already a British-shaped car.
Headlights are no longer an issue
As you’re possibly aware, headlights used to be a sticking point for some imported cars, even right-hand drive ones. For Hong Kong cars, that has changed. They are no longer scrutinised for headlight compliance.
That’s why we can usually say, quite early on, that a Hong Kong car will need very little work. There is no expensive headlight unit to source, no waiting for parts, and no awkward conversation about whether a particular lamp will pass.
What still needs doing
Two jobs come up on most Hong Kong cars. Neither is a big one.
Speedometer: km/h to mph
Hong Kong measures speed in kilometres per hour. UK law requires the speedometer to show miles per hour. On some cars with digital displays, the units are simply a setting: Tesla’s owner’s manual, for example, lists a choice of metric or imperial units. On cars with a traditional analogue dial, the face is converted or replaced so that mph reads clearly. We check which applies to your car on inspection.
The speedo widget on this page lets you see how familiar speeds translate, which is useful if you are reading a Hong Kong advert and trying to picture the car on a British motorway.
Rear fog light
UK cars need a rear fog light. Some Hong Kong cars have one already in the right place, some have one that needs converting, and some need one fitting. We look at it on inspection and do the work in our own workshop.
The odometer
Mileage is the other thing people ask about. The odometer will usually read in kilometres. That is fine; the car’s history is simply recorded accurately, and the conversion is a sum rather than a modification. We will talk you through what is needed for your particular model.
Testing and registration
Once the light conversions are done, the car is tested. Cars under ten years old take an IVA test. Cars ten years old and over need an MOT instead, and cars over forty do not need an MOT at all, as long as they have not been substantially changed.
We run the first privately owned IVA testing centre for passenger vehicles in the UK, at our site in Castle Donington. That means test prep, the test itself and any small fixes all happen under one roof, without waiting for an outside test slot. Our guide to the IVA test explained covers what is looked at.
After testing, we register the car through our dealer-level DVLA account. That typically takes around 10 working days, after which the car gets its UK registration and plates.
Number plates
Hong Kong plates are white at the front and yellow at the rear, with black characters. They are the same colours as ours, which often surprises people. The format is different, though, and the plates come off once the car is registered here. If you have a lucky number eight or a personalised plate in Hong Kong, it stays in Hong Kong. You can of course put a UK personalised plate on the car once it is registered.
Why this makes Hong Kong a good place to import from
Put it all together and the picture is clear. A Hong Kong car arrives already right-hand drive, already built for left-hand traffic, with headlights that need no attention. The jobs left are small, known in advance and done in-house.
It means fewer surprises on cost and fewer delays on time. With over 20,000 cars imported and thirty-plus years of experience, we know what a Hong Kong car usually needs before it reaches us. When we give you a quote for a Hong Kong car, we can usually be quite specific about the work involved, because there is so little of it.
| Item | Typical Hong Kong car |
|---|---|
| Steering position | Already right-hand drive |
| Headlights | Not scrutinised |
| Speedometer | Convert to mph |
| Rear fog light | Fit or convert if needed |
| Test | IVA under ten years, MOT ten and over |
Next steps
If you have a particular car in mind, Get a quote and tell us the make, model and year. We will tell you exactly what it needs. If you would like to see the full journey first, how it works lays out every stage. We’d be more than happy to help should you need it.
Questions
People also ask
Do Hong Kong cars need their headlights changed for the UK?
No. Hong Kong cars are no longer scrutinised for headlight compliance, because they are built for left-hand traffic just like UK cars.
What usually needs changing on a Hong Kong car?
Typically two things: the speedometer needs to show mph, and the car may need a rear fog light fitted or converted. We handle both in-house.
Will my Hong Kong number plates work in the UK?
No. The car is registered with the DVLA and gets UK plates. Hong Kong plates use the same colours as ours, white at the front and yellow at the rear with black characters, but the format is different.
