UK Car Shipping Costs in 2026: A Full Route-by-Route Price Breakdown

Four factors drive most of the cost variation: the shipping method (RoRo versus container), the destination port, vehicle size and weight, and seasonal demand. RoRo is priced per vehicle regardless of what's inside it, while container shipping is priced by container (20ft or 40ft) whether you fill it with one car or share it with two or three others. Fuel surcharges and currency fluctuations also move quoted prices by 5-10% over the course of a year, so always ask for a quote valid for a specific booking window rather than relying on a figure you saw months ago.

From Southampton or Tilbury, typical RoRo prices for a standard saloon or hatchback are: to Mombasa, Kenya around £950-£1,300; to Durban, South Africa around £1,050-£1,400; to Lagos, Nigeria around £1,100-£1,500; to Jebel Ali, UAE around £750-£1,000; and to Fremantle, Australia around £1,400-£1,900. Larger SUVs and pickups typically add 15-25% to these figures because of deck height and space allocation. These prices generally include port handling at origin but exclude destination clearance, duty and inland transport, so treat them as the shipping leg only, not the total landed cost.

Container shipping runs higher but offers protection and, for shared containers, the option to include personal effects. A shared 40ft container slot (holding one car plus your goods) from the UK to East or Southern Africa typically costs £1,300-£1,800, while a dedicated 20ft container for a single vehicle runs £2,200-£2,900 depending on route. To the Gulf, expect £1,600-£2,200 for a dedicated container, and to Australia or New Zealand £2,500-£3,400 given the longer transit and stricter biosecurity handling requirements. See our container shipping guide for how sharing works and how to reduce your share of the cost.

Beyond the headline freight cost, expect UK origin fees of £75-£150 for terminal handling, marine insurance at 1-2% of the vehicle's declared value (see our insurance cost guide), and destination charges that can dwarf the shipping fee itself once you include import duty, VAT, port storage and clearing agent fees. Our customs duty calculator guide explains how to estimate these for your specific destination before you commit to a purchase or sale.

Prices rise 10-20% during peak booking windows, typically March-May and September-November, when exporters compete for limited RoRo deck space ahead of Northern Hemisphere spring and the used-car buying season in many African and Gulf markets. Booking 6-8 weeks ahead of these windows, or shipping in quieter months like January or July, can meaningfully reduce your fare. Our best time to ship guide covers this in more depth.

Always provide the exact make, model, dimensions and weight of the vehicle, the precise UK postcode for collection, and the destination port (not just the country) when requesting quotes. Ask whether the quote is RoRo or container, whether it includes UK terminal handling, and what the free storage period is at both ends before demurrage charges apply. Get at least three quotes in writing and compare like-for-like inclusions rather than headline numbers alone.