Glossary of EV Import Terms

The language of vehicle importing is dense with acronyms and terms of art. This glossary defines the ones you’ll actually encounter, in plain English.

Cost & pricing terms

FOB (Free on Board) — The price of the vehicle at the origin port, excluding ocean freight and insurance. The seller’s responsibility ends when the vehicle is loaded on the ship.

CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) — The price including ocean freight and insurance to the destination port. This is the value that customs duties are calculated on.

Base price — The factory or ex-works price of the vehicle in China, before any freight, duty, or tax.

Landed cost — The total cost to import a vehicle to a specific country and make it road-legal, before dealer margin. Base price + duty + countervailing duty + VAT/GST + freight + clearance + certification + registration + inland transport.

Premium over base — The percentage increase from base price to landed cost. A vehicle at $24,690 landing at $44,413 has a +79.9% premium.

Trade & tariff terms

Standard import duty — The basic customs duty on a vehicle, a percentage of the CIF value. 10% in the EU and UK for Chinese EVs; 5% in the Gulf; 0% for EVs in Australia.

Most-favoured-nation (MFN) duty — The standard duty rate a country applies to imports from countries with which it has normal (non-preferential) trade relations.

Countervailing duty (CVD) — An additional anti-subsidy tariff applied on top of the standard duty, designed to offset subsidies a foreign government gives its exporters. For Chinese EVs in the EU, it is producer-specific: 7.8% to 35.3%.

Anti-dumping duty — A separate tariff designed to counter goods sold below fair market value. Distinct from, and additional to, a countervailing duty.

Code / TARIC — The classification code under which a vehicle is declared to customs. Passenger EVs generally fall under Harmonized System heading 8703.

Tax terms

VAT (Value-Added Tax) — The consumption tax applied in the EU and UK, charged last on the duty-inclusive total. Recoverable for VAT-registered businesses.

GST (Goods and Services Tax) — The equivalent consumption tax in Australia (and other jurisdictions). 10% in Australia.

VAT/GST recoverability — The ability of a registered business to reclaim VAT/GST, making it a cash-flow item rather than a final cost.

Freight & logistics terms

RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off) — A shipping method where vehicles are driven onto and off a vessel. The standard method for shipping cars; lower cost and lower risk of damage than containerised.

Containerised shipping — Shipping a vehicle inside a standard shipping container. More expensive, but sometimes required for high-value or unusual vehicles.

Customs clearance — The administrative process of filing an entry and settling duties to release a vehicle from customs.

Compliance & certification terms

Type approval — Certification that a vehicle type meets all applicable technical requirements of a market.

WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type Approval) — The EU’s full type-approval route for series imports.

Small Series Type Approval — A relaxed EU approval route for limited annual volumes.

Homologation — The process of certifying a vehicle as compliant with a market’s technical regulations.

§21 StVZO — The German single-vehicle approval route, via a technical inspection organisation (TÜV, DEKRA, GTÜ).

IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) — The UK’s single-vehicle approval scheme, administered by the DVSA.

ADR (Australian Design Rules) — The technical standards imported vehicles must meet in Australia.

RAV (Register of Approved Vehicles) — Australia’s register of vehicles approved for road use.

COC (Certificate of Conformity) — A document certifying that a vehicle conforms to an approved type.

Range & specification terms

CLTC (China Light-duty vehicle Test Cycle) — China’s range test standard, which typically reports 15–30% higher figures than real-world use.

WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure) — The EU’s range test standard, closer to real-world conditions.

NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) — An older EU test standard, now largely superseded by WLTP.

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