International Car Shipping Rates
Car shipping rates from the UK start from £910 for a saloon car to Cyprus via RoRo and £1,431 for a saloon to Australia. Rates vary based on five factors: destination and sailing frequency, vehicle size, shipping method (RoRo or container), the time of year you book, and whether collection from your UK address is included. Container rates are based on the size of container used, not the size of the vehicle inside it. All ShipCars rates include free UK customs clearance as standard.
Car Shipping Rates From The UK: How to Get the Best Rate
ShipCars handles between 50 and 85 car shipping quote requests every day. The question that comes up more than any other is not just “how much will it cost” but “why does my rate look different to what I read online” or “why is one company charging me more than another for the same destination.” The answer lies in understanding the five variables that determine every car shipping rate from the UK. Once you know what they are, you can make smarter decisions about when to book, which method to choose, and what you are actually comparing when two quotes land in your inbox.
Check More On Car Shipping Costs.
What Your Car Shipping Rate Actually Covers
Before looking at what pushes rates up or down, it helps to understand what a ShipCars quote includes as standard. This matters because not every shipping company quotes on the same basis, which is why rates from different providers can look dramatically different even for the same destination.
Every ShipCars rate covers UK port handling, the ocean freight from the UK departure port to the destination port, and UK customs export clearance. UK customs clearance is included in every quote as standard at no additional charge. Many providers quote this separately and add it on after you have accepted the headline figure, which is one of the most common causes of quote shock in the industry.
What sits outside the rate is UK collection from your address to the port (priced separately by mileage), marine insurance (available as an optional add-on, strongly recommended), and destination-side costs including import duties, port handling, and local clearing agent fees at the destination country.
Factor One: Destination and Sailing Frequency
The single biggest variable in any car shipping rate is where the vehicle is going. This is driven not just by distance but by how frequently vessels sail to that port.
The economics of shipping are straightforward. The more vehicles move on a particular route, the more competition exists between shipping lines for that traffic, and the lower the rate per vehicle tends to be. Routes to popular destinations such as Australia, the USA, Cyprus, and South Africa see regular, frequent sailings with multiple operators, which keeps rates competitive. Routes to less-served destinations involve fewer sailings and sometimes only one operator, which gives the shipping line less pressure to keep rates low.
Check Our Shipping Destinations Worldwide
Frequency Creates Competition
This is why a car going to Limassol in Cyprus from Southampton can cost less than you might expect given the distance, while a car going to a smaller West African port on a less frequent sailing costs proportionally more. Frequency creates competition. Competition keeps rates honest.
It also explains why ShipCars monitors the market continuously rather than publishing a static rate table for every port in the world. Rates on popular routes move seasonally and respond to vessel schedule changes. The rate we quoted last month on a particular route may be slightly different today, and the most accurate figure is always the one calculated at the point of booking against the current sailing schedule.
Check our upcoming sailing schedules
Factor Two: Vehicle Size
For RoRo shipping, the rate is determined by the amount of deck space the vehicle occupies, not by what the vehicle is worth or what make and model it is. This is the volumetric principle, and it is why two buyers shipping cars to the same destination on the same vessel pay different rates.
A standard saloon car occupying a small footprint on a RoRo deck is cheaper to ship than a large 4×4 or SUV that takes up significantly more space. ShipCars works from vehicle height as the primary measurement for RoRo rate calculation. Vehicles measuring no more than 1.6 metres high are charged at the standard saloon rate. Vehicles above that height fall into the higher rate bracket.
Why Car Size Matters
Some real examples from current ShipCars pricing make this concrete. A saloon car shipped from Southampton to Limassol costs £910. The same journey for a 4×4 costs £895, reflecting the larger deck space the higher vehicle requires. A saloon car to Australia costs £1,431 while the 4×4 rate to the same destination is £1,400. The difference in each case reflects the difference in deck space, and that difference is consistent regardless of what brand the vehicle is.
How Container Shipping Works
Container shipping works on a different principle entirely. When a vehicle is loaded inside a container, the rate is based on the container itself rather than on the vehicle loaded inside it. A 20ft container to Jebel Ali in Dubai costs £1,495 whether it holds a saloon car, a 4×4, a small van, or a caravan that fits within the container dimensions. The container rate does not change based on what goes inside it, which means container shipping can represent better relative value for larger vehicles compared to RoRo.
Factor Three: Car Shipping Method
RoRo and container shipping are the two methods available for most international car shipping routes from the UK, and they are priced differently in ways that go beyond a simple cost comparison. RoRo is the cheaper option for running vehicles because it is operationally efficient. Your car is driven onto the vessel, secured on the vehicle deck, and driven off at the destination. No packaging, no lifting, no individual container. The simplicity of the process is reflected in the rate.
Container shipping costs more because each shipment requires individual loading, positioning, securing, and container management. But the rate structure is different too. With container shipping you are buying a fixed-size unit of space rather than paying per square metre of deck. That means a large or heavy vehicle that would command a significant premium on a RoRo vessel may be more economically shipped in a container where the rate is the same regardless of what fills it.
Check Car Shipping methods: RORO Car Shipping And Container Shipping.
The Car Shipping Method Changes The Game Entirely
There are also routes where only container shipping is available. Pakistan, for example, is a container-only lane from the UK. Trying to compare a RoRo rate to Pakistan with a container rate is not possible because there is no RoRo service on that route. Knowing which method is available on your specific route is the first step in comparing rates meaningfully.
For high-value, classic, or non-running vehicles, the additional cost of container shipping is almost always the right choice regardless of the rate differential. The protection a sealed container provides during a long ocean transit is worth considerably more than the saving you would make by choosing a cheaper RoRo rate.
Factor Four: Timing and Sailing Frequency
Rates on individual routes respond to supply and demand, and the time of year you book affects what you pay. Summer months, when expatriates and relocating families are most actively moving, tend to see higher demand on popular routes. Booking outside peak periods can reduce your rate meaningfully on competitive routes.
How Sailing frequency Affects The Shipping Rates
Sailing frequency also affects the practical cost of shipping in a less direct way. On routes where ShipCars operates three or four sailings per month, you have flexibility about which departure date suits you and can plan your booking to align with your schedule. On routes with only one or two monthly sailings, missing a sailing window means waiting for the next one, which can affect storage costs, insurance periods, and planning. Understanding the sailing frequency for your route from the outset helps you plan more accurately and avoid costs that arise from missed sailings.
ShipCars publishes a live RoRo sailing schedule at shipcars.co.uk/roro-sailing-schedule, updated weekly. Before requesting a quote for any destination, checking the schedule gives you a clear picture of departure options and helps you ask more specific questions when the quote comes back.
Factor Five: What Is and Is Not Included in the Quote
This is where most confusion about car shipping rates originates, and it is worth understanding clearly before comparing any two quotes side by side.
A ShipCars quote covers the UK-side of the shipment: ocean freight, UK port handling, and UK customs export clearance. It does not cover the destination-side costs, which include import duties and taxes charged by the destination country’s customs authority, destination port handling and storage fees, and the fees charged by a local clearing agent at the destination port. These destination-side costs are separate from the shipping rate and are in almost every case beyond any UK-based shipping company’s control.
Import Duty Charges
The import duties charged at destination can vary enormously. On a vehicle shipped to South Africa, for example, import duty is assessed at 25% of the vehicle’s CIF value (cost plus insurance plus freight) before 15% VAT is applied on top. On a vehicle shipped to Australia, the same calculation applies with 5% duty and 10% GST. These are mandatory costs set by the government of the destination country and are entirely separate from what ShipCars charges for the UK-side shipping.
Real Quote For Shipping
When comparing quotes from different shipping companies, the only fair comparison is like for like: UK-side ocean freight to the same port, with the same method, for the same vehicle size, at the same time. A quote that appears lower may simply be excluding items that another quote has already included. Always ask what is and is not covered before drawing any conclusions about which quote represents better value.
Why ShipCars Rates Are Competitive
ShipCars generates between 50 and 85 shipping quotes every day, which means we are actively working in the market across dozens of destinations at any given time. That volume gives us a level of visibility into current market rates that occasional shippers simply do not have. We know when rates on a particular route are moving, when a better option exists on an alternative vessel, and when one carrier is offering a more competitive rate than another for the same journey.
We also proactively challenge the rates we are offered by carriers throughout the year, looking for the most cost-effective service for each route rather than defaulting to the same carrier and vessel regardless of what the current market offers. Our commitment is to provide the most competitive rate available for your specific shipment, and we back that with a guarantee to beat any genuine like-for-like quote.
Rates For Service Described
Our quotes are issued within 30 minutes of receiving your vehicle details and destination. The quick quote form on our website takes the essential information, and our team turns that into a specific, accurate rate rather than a vague range. We do not quote ranges and then adjust upwards at the point of booking. The rate you receive is the rate you pay for the service described.
All quotes include free UK customs export clearance as standard. This is not an industry-wide standard, and its inclusion in every ShipCars quote is one of the more meaningful cost differences between us and competitors who add this as a line item after the headline rate.
Current Rate Examples From ShipCars
The figures below are from ShipCars’ current pricing and reflect September 2026 rates for standard vehicles on their respective routes. All rates are port-to-port, exclusive of UK collection, marine insurance, and destination-side costs.
Saloon car from Southampton to Limassol, Cyprus by RoRo: £910 4×4 from Southampton to Limassol, Cyprus by container: £1445
Saloon car to Australia by RoRo: £1,431 4×4 to Australia by container: £1,400
20ft container to Jebel Ali (Dubai, UAE): £1,043 regardless of vehicle size within the container
For all other destinations and vehicle types, use the quote form at shipcars.co.uk/quote-form or call 01495 320540. Rates for less frequent routes are calculated individually against the current sailing schedule.
Verify these prices at the point of enquiry. Rates on all routes are subject to change with market conditions and vessel schedules.
How to Get the Most Accurate Rate for Your Shipment
The most useful thing you can do before requesting a quote is to have your vehicle details ready. The information that most affects your rate is the vehicle’s height (to determine whether it falls into the standard or larger size bracket on RoRo services), the destination port rather than just the destination country, and your preferred time of departure.
If your vehicle is a non-runner, say so at the point of enquiry. Non-running vehicles require different handling at the UK port and cannot use RoRo, so the rate calculation is different from the outset. Being clear about this upfront means you receive an accurate quote the first time rather than a revised one after the vehicle is inspected.
Personal Belongings Inside The Vehicle
If you are considering including personal belongings inside the vehicle in a container shipment, declare this at the point of enquiry. Shipments with personal effects require additional confirmation from both the shipping line and the destination agent before loading can take place, and this may affect both the rate and the timeline.
Call 01495 320540, email info@shipcars.co.uk, or complete the quote form at shipcars.co.uk/quote-form. Quotes are typically returned within 30 minutes during business hours. Contact us today for further information or visit our sailing schedule and get an instant quote to schedule your car shipping with us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in a ShipCars car shipping rate?
Every ShipCars rate includes ocean freight from the UK departure port to the destination port, UK port handling and terminal fees, and UK customs export clearance. Collection from your UK address, marine insurance, and destination-side costs including import duties, port handling, and clearing agent fees are quoted separately.
Why does vehicle size affect my shipping rate on RoRo but not on container?
RoRo rates are calculated on the deck space the vehicle occupies on the vessel, which is determined primarily by the vehicle’s height. A taller vehicle takes up more vertical space and is charged at a higher rate. Container rates are calculated on the size of the container itself rather than the vehicle inside it, so a saloon car and a 4×4 loaded into the same 20ft container cost the same to ship.
Why do some destinations have higher rates than others?
Rate differences between destinations reflect two factors: physical distance and sailing frequency. More popular routes with multiple weekly or monthly sailings create competition between carriers, which keeps rates lower. Less-served routes with fewer sailings and sometimes only one operator have less competitive pressure, which typically results in higher per-vehicle rates.
How quickly can ShipCars provide a rate?
ShipCars aims to return a rate within 30 minutes of receiving your vehicle details and destination through the quick quote form. The quote will be specific to your vehicle, destination, and preferred timing rather than a general range, and the rate quoted is the rate you pay for the service described.
Is the rate I receive guaranteed?
The rate is confirmed for the period stated in the quote and for the specific sailing and service described. Rates can change between the time of quotation and the time of booking if market conditions or sailing schedules change. Booking promptly after receiving a quote is the best way to lock in the rate provided.
What is the cheapest way to ship a car from the UK?
RoRo shipping is consistently the most cost-effective method for standard, roadworthy vehicles. It is available on most major international routes from the UK and starts from £765 for European and Mediterranean destinations. Container shipping costs more but is the correct choice for non-running vehicles, high-value or classic cars, and routes where RoRo is not available.
