Import a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado from Japan to Ireland: what it really costs
Sold here as the Land Cruiser; the Japanese market keeps the Prado name and offers petrol and diesel, five and seven seats, in grades Ireland never got.
The Prado is the passenger Land Cruiser: body-on-frame, seven seats in the longer grades, and a Japanese used market that prices them high because the whole world wants to import them. It is the kind of car where the Irish value is large, the CO2 figure is large, and the two multiply.
A Japanese-built Prado is duty-free with a Statement on Origin, but VRT lands in the 35% or 41% band and applies to an Irish value that can be €40,000 to €60,000, and the diesel needs a NOx figure or pays the €4,850 default. The scenarios below show why the petrol 2.7 and the diesel 2.8 land closer together than their purchase prices suggest.
- Customs duty
- 0%
- With a Statement on Origin; 10% without one.
- VRT in the scenarios
- 41% to 41%
- of Revenue’s valuation, by CO2 band
- Landed, incl. fee
- €34,698 to €59,010
- across the scenarios and CO2 assumptions
- Exchange rate
- 180.94 ¥/€
- ECB, 18 Sept 2026, with the 2% buffer
Worked scenarios
Computed with the same engine as the calculator when this page was built. Prices and Irish values are assumptions. The right-hand range shows what happens when the CO2 evidence comes back at 190, 210, 240 g/km. Open any row and replace the assumptions with a real car.
| Car | Price in Japan | Irish value | CO2 → band | Landed incl. fee | CO2 190–240 | Open in calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 TX 2.7 petrol, 5 seats, 60,000 kmPetrol | ¥2,600,000 | €36,000 | 240 → band 20, 41% | €36,858 | €34,698–€36,858 | Open |
| 2019 TX-L 2.8 diesel, 7 seats, 50,000 kmdiesel | ¥3,900,000 | €48,000 | 210 → band 20, 41% | €51,310 | €48,430–€51,310 | Open |
| 2021 TX 2.8 diesel, 7 seats, 30,000 kmdiesel | ¥4,600,000 | €55,000 | 205 → band 20, 41% | €59,010 | €55,710–€59,010 | Open |
- 2016 TX 2.7 petrol, 5 seats, 60,000 km: A WLTP-equivalent CO2 of 240 g/km assumed from a disclosure; petrol NOx is trivial. Value estimated from UK and Irish Land Cruiser prices.
- 2019 TX-L 2.8 diesel, 7 seats, 50,000 km: WLTP-equivalent 210 g/km and NOx 60 mg/km assumed from a disclosure for the 1GD-FTV; without the NOx figure the levy would be €4,850 rather than €500.
- 2021 TX 2.8 diesel, 7 seats, 30,000 km: A late 150-series; value and emissions figures are assumptions, and the range on the estimate is wide because Revenue has few Irish comparables.
VRT and the OMSP
Every realistic Prado figure lands in the 35% or 41% band, and the 41% band applies to anything above 190 g/km. On a €48,000 Irish value that is €16,800 to €19,680 of VRT, so the CO2 evidence matters less than the valuation: a €5,000 swing in Revenue’s view of the car is €2,050 at 41%.
The passenger Prado is a Category A vehicle. Converting a Land Cruiser to a commercial for the lower rate is a separate, regulated route with its own rules and is not what this page prices.
NOx levy
The 2.8 diesel certifies at around 50 to 70 mg/km in the markets that publish a figure, which is a levy of roughly €350 to €650; the Japanese paperwork will not carry it, so a disclosure request is part of the import. The 2.7 petrol certifies low and the levy is under €100.
Without evidence Revenue charges €600 for petrol and hybrid cars, €4,850 for diesels.
Customs duty and origin
Japanese-built, so 0% customs duty applies under the EU–Japan agreement provided the exporter supplies a Statement on Origin. Without it, 10% of the customs value is charged: on a ¥4,000,000 car that is about €2,400 plus the VAT on it.
Built in: Japan (Toyota Tahara plant, Aichi). Japanese-built, so the EU–Japan 0% duty rate applies with a Statement on Origin.
Insurance
Insurers know the Land Cruiser well and quote the Prado as one; the grey-import status matters less than the value. Expect a premium in line with any €50,000 SUV, and check that a seven-seat Japanese-specification car is accepted as such.
Generations
- 150-series (2009 to 2023): the 2.7-litre 2TR-FE petrol throughout and the 2.8-litre 1GD-FTV diesel from 2015, in TX, TX-L and TZ-G grades, facelifted in 2013 and 2017. The importable one.
- 250-series (2024 on): the new Land Cruiser sold here as the 250, with the 2.8 diesel and a 48-volt hybrid from 2025. Too new and too dear to import yet.
Before you bid
- The top VRT band on a high Irish value is the whole story: check Revenue’s valuation before you bid, not after.
- Diesel needs the NOx figure evidenced; budget the disclosure and time for it.
- Japanese Prados often carry sunroofs, rear entertainment and Japanese navigation; the electronics work but the maps and voice are Japanese.
- Body-on-frame cars from snowy prefectures corrode underneath; insist on underside photographs or an inspection.
- Japanese tyres often lack the E-mark the NCT requires: budget €300–600 for a set.
- Book the NCTS appointment within 7 days of arrival and register within 30, or penalties apply.
Where the numbers come from
- Irish listings in September 2026 were dominated by the new 250-series (a 2023 car at €78,999, a 2024 at €97,950, a 2026 hybrid at €112,000); Irish-registered 150-series passenger Prados are rare, so the values below lean on those and on UK Land Cruiser prices (research assumption).
- Japanese exporter listings in 2026 put a 2016 TX 2.7 petrol at roughly ¥2,400,000 to ¥3,000,000 and a 2019 TX-L 2.8 diesel at ¥3,600,000 to ¥4,200,000; the Prado holds its value in Japan because of export demand (research assumption; directional).
- The Japanese-market Prado has no EU type-approval CO2 figure; the numbers used here are WLTP-equivalent assumptions that a disclosure request would confirm or move.
Questions people ask
Is a Land Cruiser Prado duty-free to import from Japan?
Yes, with a Statement on Origin from the exporter, because it is built at Toyota’s Tahara plant. Without the statement, 10% of the customs value is charged.
What VRT band is a Prado?
The 35% band below 190 g/km and the 41% band above it, and most Prado figures are above it. On a €48,000 Irish value that is about €19,700 of VRT. The Irish value is the number to pin down first.
Petrol or diesel?
The 2.7 petrol is cheaper to buy, carries a trivial NOx levy and needs no NOx evidence, but it is thirsty and its CO2 puts it in the top band. The 2.8 diesel costs more in Japan and needs a NOx disclosure, but it is the car most people want. The scenarios show them landing closer than the purchase prices suggest.
Can I register it as a commercial to reduce the VRT?
Not as a passenger Prado. Commercial conversion of a Land Cruiser is a separate route with its own rules on seats, bulkheads and use, and it is not what this page prices. Ask before you buy if that is the plan.
How long does the import take?
Typically 8 to 14 weeks from auction to Irish plates: a week or two in Japan for deregistration and export paperwork, four to six at sea, then customs clearance, the NCTS appointment and registration.
Price a real Land Cruiser Prado
Put a real auction listing into the calculator: hammer price, mileage and the CO2 figure if you have it. You get every cost line and a range, and you can send it to us for sourcing from there.
Other models
Rules version 2026-09-17. Estimates only; VRT is assessed by Revenue at registration. Page computed at build time; the calculator uses the exchange rate of the day.