Car transport Lyon to Frankfurt
Professional vehicle transport service between Lyon and Frankfurt. Free quote and secure transport.
Complete Franco-German Service
Car transport Lyon → Frankfurt: allow 1 to 3 working days between collection and delivery, indicative and confirmed on the quotation.
Complete administrative management
- ✓Direct contact with seller/buyer
- ✓Document management in multiple languages
- ✓Power of attorney for vehicle handover
- ✓Verification of all documents
Multilingual support
- ✓French
- ✓German
- ✓Translation of administrative documents
- ✓Simplified international coordination
Our Lyon-Frankfurt process
Seller contact in Lyon
Communication in English, German and French
Document verification
Check all paperwork
Power of attorney preparation
Secure legal documents
Delivery to Frankfurt
Buyer contact
Lyon → Frankfurt: one driving day, two markets
At 510 km this route fits inside a single legal driving day, which sets it apart from our other flows between France and Germany: a load collected around Lyon can be unloaded in the Rhine-Main area as early as the next day. Requests come from dealerships, from rental companies rebalancing their fleets, and from traders delivering into the Frankfurt auction area — vehicle transport between businesses.
The route follows the Rhône valley, crosses Alsace, enters Germany near Karlsruhe and then stays on the Rhine corridor. Generally not through Switzerland: neither the LSVA nor Alpine transit enters the calculation, and the corridor is usable year-round, with no pass and no winter closure. The German half falls under the Maut, €0.187 to €0.473 per km, depending on the vehicle used.
What really decides the day is the addresses. A workshop with narrow opening slots, a compound that loads by appointment only, two collection points forty kilometres apart across greater Lyon: each of those constraints weighs more than thirty motorway kilometres. We build them into the schedule, and the lead time written on the quote has already accounted for them.
Lyon to Frankfurt car transport price: why the kilometre is not enough
On a route this short it is not the driving that fills the day but the shunting, the wait at the gate and the lashing of every single car. What gets invoiced is therefore an operating day, loading and unloading included, not 510 kilometres cut up pro rata. A short trip does not cost proportionally less than a long one, because the truck’s fixed costs land unchanged, six hours of driving or twelve.
That cost is then spread over what actually goes on board. The carrier has 9 slots across two decks, and a vehicle’s overall size — height, length and width together — decides which one it gets: past about 1,750 mm of height only the lower deck remains. The gap between models is wide — a Golf takes 1 slot in 9, an ID.Buzz takes 1 in 4 on its own, and no single measurement would tell you that.
On a corridor this short, one car alone makes a single payer carry the whole day, and even a partly built batch changes the arithmetic straight away. The German Maut, French tolls and fuel, by contrast, are already inside the quoted figure: costed once, for the truck, and never turning up as a surcharge on the invoice after delivery.
For a sense of scale before you request a firm price: across our whole network, prices start from €200 excl. VAT per vehicle. On Lyon → Frankfurt, distance, the number of vehicles and the date decide how far above it — the instant estimate further down this page, already filled in with your route, gives you yours.
Contractual carrier, not a broker
47 trucks run on our planning every day with our certified partners: on every consignment HTL remains the contractual carrier, liable under CMR, including when a partner drives. Five of them are car carriers of our own, owned since 2014. A broker introduces you, hands the transport to a third party and steps out of the contract — you no longer know who answers.
Carrier or broker: what changes for youWhat Our Customers Say
Google Reviews
Without a doubt, the best transport company I have ever dealt with. Their level of customer service is truly exceptional — professional, attentive, responsive, and always available when needed. They were incredibly fast with both the collection and delivery of my car, and the whole process was smooth and hassle-free from start to finish. I couldn’t be happier with the service and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a reliable and professional vehicle transport company.
Review posted on Google
Great service! they offer a tracking to follow the transport of your car!
Review posted on Google
They have been a regular carrier for us for over eight years now. It is always a pleasure working with Yves and Wolfgang. Communication is quick and easy, and their prices are fair!
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Frequently asked questions
Find quick answers to your most frequently asked questions about our transport service.
An indicative estimate for Lyon-Frankfurt appears directly on this page as soon as you enter your vehicle — no sign-up, no waiting. The final price then depends on the vehicle type, dates and options chosen, and is confirmed by email.
Allow 1 to 3 working days between collection and delivery, plus 3 to 4 days between order confirmation and collection. These times are indicative and confirmed on the quotation. For reference, this route is 510 km and around 6h30 of driving, excluding regulatory stops and loading points.
Yes, we handle all administrative management: contact with seller/buyer, document preparation, power of attorney for vehicle handover. Our multilingual team ensures smooth communication in English, French, and German.
The power of attorney allows the seller to authorize our driver to collect the vehicle on their behalf. We prepare this document and manage all administrative formalities to simplify the transaction.
No problem: our English-French team handles the communication. We deal with the seller in French, prepare the documents and our drivers collect the vehicles with power of attorney. HTL remains the contractual carrier and answers under CMR, whether the truck is one of the five that are ours or a certified partner’s.
Yes. Every transport is covered by the carrier’s CMR liability, capped at 8.33 SDR per kilo — enough in the vast majority of cases: a wheel rim or a bumper will never cost the price of the vehicle. For a high-value vehicle we offer optional ad valorem insurance, up to €250,000 per vehicle.
Yes. At loading you receive a written confirmation and a tracking link for your shipment, with no account and no password: it places the truck within an approach zone of about 10 km and shows the kilometres left. If you would rather just ask, your contact will give you the position and the estimated delivery.
More on this: how the price of a car transport is calculated →
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