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Landed Cost

Cost Breakdown Example - EV Hub Docs

A fully worked landed-cost example on a BYD Seal across Germany, the UK, the UAE, and Australia, showing exactly where the money goes in each market.

Cost Breakdown Example: BYD Seal

To make the landed-cost concept concrete, this page walks a single vehicle — a BYD Seal at a $24,690 China base price — through four markets. The same car, the same freight, the same certification. Only the tax stack changes, and the spread is instructive.

Germany: the full EU stack

Germany applies the EU’s countervailing duty (BYD at 17%) plus 19% VAT.

Line itemAmount (USD)
Base price$24,690
Standard duty (10%)$2,469
Countervailing duty (17%)$4,617
VAT (19%)$6,037
RoRo freight$2,000
Customs clearance$350
Certification$3,250
Registration$500
Inland transport$500
Total landed$44,413

Premium: +79.9%.

United Kingdom: no countervailing duty

The UK drops the CVD but keeps 20% VAT and 10% duty.

Line itemAmount (USD)
Base price$24,690
Standard duty (10%)$2,469
Countervailing duty$0
VAT (20%)$5,432
RoRo freight + clearance + cert + reg + inland$6,250
Total landed$38,841

Premium: +57.3%.

UAE: the cheapest major market

5% duty, no CVD, 5% VAT.

Line itemAmount (USD)
Base price$24,690
Standard duty (5%)$1,235
Countervailing duty$0
VAT (5%)$1,296
Fixed costs~$6,250
Total landed$31,673

Premium: +28.3%.

Australia: zero duty, compliance-heavy

0% duty, no CVD, 10% GST.

Line itemAmount (USD)
Base price$24,690
Standard duty (0%)$0
Countervailing duty$0
GST (10%)$2,469
Fixed costs + compliance~$6,250
Total landed$33,016

Premium: +33.7%.

What the spread teaches you

The same car lands anywhere from $31,673 (UAE) to $44,413 (Germany) — a $12,740 swing driven almost entirely by tax policy differences:

  1. The countervailing duty is the biggest single variable. The EU’s producer-specific CVD adds $4,600+ to a BYD, and over $9,000 to an SAIC/MG vehicle at 35.3%.
  2. VAT/GST is the second lever. 5% (UAE) versus 19% (Germany) on a $24,690 base is a four-figure difference.
  3. Fixed costs are roughly constant. Freight, clearance, certification, and registration hover around $6,000–$6,250 in every market; they don’t drive the spread.

The margin reality

The “cheap Chinese EV” narrative holds in the Gulf and Australia, where the premium is under 35%. In the EU, the same vehicle costs 57–80% more — and for high-CVD producers, the premium can exceed 100%. That’s the difference between a viable import and a financial mistake, and it’s exactly the gap CNEVhub exists to make visible before you commit.