Price accounting for automobile export quotation needs to comprehensively consider production costs, domestic expenses, international logistics, insurance, taxes, profits and other factors.The following is a detailed analysis of the accounting formula and key elements to help you systematically understand the composition of the offer:
I. Core price accounting formula
Definition: The seller is responsible for all costs until the goods are loaded onto the ship, and the buyer bears the ocean freight and subsequent costs.
Formula
:FOB price = (Ex-works cost + Gross Domestic Expenses – Export Tax Rebate) ÷ Exchange Rate + Expected ProfitFormula
Definition: Adding international ocean freight to FOB.
Formula: CFR = FOB + international sea freight
Definition: The addition of insurance premiums for international transportation of goods to the CFR.
Formula: CIF price = CFR price + insurance premiums
Premium = CIF price × insured premium rate × insurance rate (normally 110% insured premium rate, i.e. 1.1 times)
II. Detailed calculation of each cost element
Components: Raw material costs + Labor costs + Manufacturing costs + Corporate overhead + Depreciation of equipment, etc.
Example: The production cost of a single vehicle of a certain model is 150,000 RMB.
2. Total domestic costs
| Type of fee | calculation method |
| packaging fee | Charge according to the packaging standard of the model, such as wooden box packaging about 500-2000 yuan / vehicle. |
| Domestic transportation costs | Ground transportation from the factory to the port, based on distance (e.g. 1000km about 2000-5000 RMB/vehicle). |
| storage charges | Harbor staging fees, calculated by the number of days (e.g., $50/day/vehicle, $350 for 7 days of staging). |
| commodity inspection fee | Cost of inspection and quarantine of export commodities, about 0.1%-0.3% of the value of goods. |
| customs declaration fee | Customs declaration fees, approximately $500-1000 per ticket (apportioned to individual vehicles by lot). |
| Bank charges | Letter of credit or remittance handling fee, approximately 0.1%-0.3% of the transaction amount. |
| Other miscellaneous expenses | Permit processing, documentation fees, etc., about $500-1000 / vehicle. |
Formula: Export Tax Refund = Factory Cost (excluding tax) x Tax Refund Rate
(Note: China’s export tax refund rate for automobiles is usually 13%, which needs to be calculated based on the amount of VAT invoice).
Example: Ex-factory cost of 150,000 yuan (including tax), excluding tax = 150,000 ÷ 1.13 ≈ 132,700 yuan, tax refund = 132,700 × 13% ≈ 17,200 yuan.
Actual cost: Ex-factory cost – tax refund = $150K – $17.2K = $132.8K.
By ship type/volume:
Full container shipments (e.g., 20-foot containers): about $2,000-$5,000/cabinet (for 1-2 small cars).
Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro): Charges are based on vehicle size and range from approximately $800-1500/vehicle for small cars to $1200-2000/vehicle for SUVs.
Remarks: It needs to be adjusted according to the destination port (e.g. Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa) and the sea transportation market situation.
Formula: Insurance premium = CIF price × 110% × insurance rate
(insurance rate is usually 0.1%-0.3%, adjusted according to the risk of the route, e.g., slightly higher rate for African routes).
Calculation:
Cost-plus method: Profit = (ex-factory cost + domestic expenses – tax rebates) x profit margin (e.g. 10%-20% profit margin).
Target Profit Method: Determine the profit margin by working backwards from market pricing, e.g., target FOB price of $20,000, after deducting costs.
The cost in RMB is converted to USD quoted at the bank’s foreign exchange rate (e.g. USD/CNY=7.0) on the day of quotation.
III. Example of a comprehensive offer (FOB as an example)
Ex-factory cost of the bike (including tax): 150,000 RMB
Total domestic cost: RMB 10,000
Export tax rebate: RMB 17,200,000
Expected profit margin: 15%
Exchange rate: USD/CNY = 7.0
1 . Actual cost: $150,000 + $10,000 – $17,200 = $142,800
2 . Profit: 142,800 × 15% = 21,420,000 yuan
3 . FOB Price (RMB): 142.8 thousand + 21.42 thousand = 164.22 thousand yuan
4 . FOB Price (USD): 164,220 ÷ 7.0 ≈ 23,460,000 dollars.
IV. Notes on Quotations
Trade terms selection:
FOB: Suitable for the buyer to specify the transportation party, low risk for the seller;
CIF: the seller has to bear the freight and insurance, the offer is more comprehensive, suitable for newbies.
Cost fluctuation factor:
Raw material prices (e.g. steel, chips), shipping prices (may increase by more than 50% during peak season), exchange rate fluctuations (it is recommended to lock in forward exchange rates).
Surcharges:
Destination port clearance fees, import duties (need to know the tax rate of the importing country in advance, such as the EU car tariff 10%), certification costs (such as the EU ECE certification, ASEAN ANCAP certification).
Quote Strategy:
Volume orders can reduce unit costs (e.g., 2%-5% discount for 100+ units);
Avoid over- or under-quoting in relation to market competition.
V. Summarizing the formulaic framework
Export quotation
= (actual cost + domestic costs + international freight + insurance) x (1 + profit margin) ÷ exchange rate.Export quotation
= (actual cost + domestic costs + international freight + insurance) x (1 + profit margin) ÷ exchange rate.
Article source: handsome cars
