Cost to Ship a Car from the UK to Australia in 2026

In 2026 the cost to ship a car from the UK to Australia typically sits at £2,400–£3,400 (RoRo) and £2,900–£3,800 (shared container), with a dedicated 20ft from £3,600, 40ft from £5,200 for high-value or non-running vehicles. Sailings load at Tilbury and discharge at Sydney or Melbourne. Use our cost calculator for a vehicle-specific quote, or the UK car shipping costs hub for cross-corridor comparison.

Vehicle cubic metres (not just weight), pickup postcode, sailing frequency, bunker adjustment factor (BAF), insurance band (third-party vs marine all-risks at agreed value) and whether you choose port-to-port or door-to-door. SUVs, 4x4s and pickups typically pay £150–£400 more than a saloon on the same Australia corridor.

Door-to-port turnaround is 35–50 days from a UK loading port to Sydney. RoRo on the deep-sea service is usually the fastest option where available; shared container is one to two weeks longer due to the consolidation window at the UK hub.

5% import duty on most passenger vehicles, plus 10% GST and Luxury Car Tax above the LCT threshold. 10% GST applied to (CIF + duty). Luxury Car Tax of 33% above AUD 80,567 (fuel-efficient AUD 91,387). All vehicles need a SEVS or RAV approval before import and mandatory asbestos and biosecurity inspection on arrival. Steam cleaning before sailing is the single biggest saver of quarantine delays. See the full Australia destination guide for documents, ports and customs detail.

Book three to four weeks ahead, ship a clean vehicle with personal effects declared, choose Tilbury consolidations for shared container, and bundle with our shared container service for the best per-vehicle rate. Get a free WhatsApp quote on +44 (0)1495 320540 or use the instant cost calculator. Compare with other corridors on the UK car shipping costs hub.

Here is what actually sits behind the headline number. The RoRo figure of £2,400–£3,400 covers collection or drop-off at the UK load port, terminal handling in the UK, export customs entry, the ocean leg and standard marine transit cover. The container figure of £2,900–£3,800 additionally covers the box, lashing and stuffing at the packing depot. It does not cover destination-side costs, and those are where budgets slip:

- Import duty and local taxes at Ship a Car, assessed on the customs value of the Car from the UK rather than on what you paid for it.
• Destination terminal handling and delivery order fees, typically the equivalent of £150–£400 depending on the port.
• Clearing agent fees — usually £150–£350, and effectively unavoidable where the customs system requires a registered broker.
• Storage if clearance stalls. Free time is normally 3–7 days after discharge, then daily demurrage.
• Inland delivery from the arrival port to the final address.

Ask for a landed-cost estimate rather than a freight quote when comparing suppliers — two quotes that look £200 apart on freight can be £900 apart once Ship a Car charges are added. Our quote form returns freight plus an itemised estimate of the destination charges we can see in advance.

Customs at both ends work from documents, not from phone calls. Assemble these before the vehicle is booked onto a sailing:

- V5C logbook (original, not the green slip). This is the proof of title UK export customs and Ship a Car customs both work from.
• Purchase invoice or bill of sale showing a realistic value — undervaluing is the single most common cause of a customs hold.
• Photo ID and proof of address for the exporter and the consignee.
• Bill of lading — issued after loading, and the document that releases the Car from the UK at Ship a Car.
• Export customs entry (CDS) filed by your forwarder, plus the NOVA/HMRC notification where the vehicle is leaving the UK permanently.
• Insurance certificate confirming cover and the agreed value for the voyage.

Where Ship a Car requires pre-shipment inspection, roadworthiness certification or an import permit, that document has to exist before loading — it cannot be obtained retrospectively once the vessel has sailed. Our customs clearance guide walks through each stage in order.

- Share a container. Two vehicles in a 40ft box typically cut the per-unit rate by 30–40% against sole use. See how shared loading works.
• Be flexible on the load port. Southampton, Immingham, Liverpool and Tilbury each serve different trades; moving one sailing or one port can change the rate materially. Compare the UK export ports.
• Avoid the peak. Rates firm up ahead of the summer relocation window and around the Chinese New Year equipment squeeze. Booking three to four weeks out is usually the sweet spot.
• Choose RoRo where the vehicle allows it. RoRo is cheaper than container for a standard, driveable car; container earns its premium for high-value, non-runner, modified or parts-laden shipments.
• Get the value right first time. A customs query at Ship a Car costs more in storage than any freight saving you might have made.

Sea transit on this route runs 35–50 days from a UK loading port to Sydney. Around that, plan for:

1. Days 1–3 — booking and documents. Quote accepted, sailing reserved, V5C and invoice supplied, export entry prepared.
2. Days 3–10 — collection and delivery to port. The Car from the UK is collected or driven in, inspected and photographed, and receipted at the terminal.
3. Loading and departure. RoRo units are driven aboard; container loads are stuffed and lashed at the depot, then delivered to the quay. The bill of lading is issued after departure.
4. Ocean leg. 35–50 days from a UK loading port to Sydney. Transhipment routings add roughly 5–10 days.
5. Arrival and clearance at Ship a Car. Duty and taxes assessed and paid, delivery order released, vehicle collected within the free-time window.

Build a two-week buffer into any plan that depends on the vehicle being available on a fixed date — vessel schedules move, and customs queues at Ship a Car are outside any forwarder's control.