Car carrier, container or rail: choosing a delivery method

Once a car has been bought and inspected, what remains is deciding how it travels to you. We ship cars three ways: by car carrier, in a container and by rail. Each has its own lead time, price and level of protection for the body. Here is how it works and how to choose.

Three ways to ship

• Car carrier — open transport, with the car secured on the deck. Suits one or two cars of any body up to 2 m tall.
• Container — closed transport, with the car strapped down and sealed. The choice for expensive and rare cars, and for a car travelling together with parts.
• Rail — a closed wagon or a flatcar, with fewer transfers. Works well for long routes and scheduled shipments.

Lead times and cost to Moscow

Take Moscow as the example. Lead times are the usual range from the warehouse in China to the city; cost covers transport in China to the border and delivery from the border to the city. Carriers publish prices for car carriers from Blagoveshchensk and rail from Vladivostok; there is no standard container rate, so a manager quotes it.

A car carrier is cheaper and more flexible: the car leaves as soon as it is ready. Rail runs to a timetable but keeps the body away from road and weather.

Routes and border crossings

Cars for Russia are consolidated in Yiwu, for Kazakhstan in Shenzhen. The crossing depends on the method:

• Russia by car carrier — via Heihe and Blagoveshchensk: 11–18 days to Vladivostok, 22–31 to Novosibirsk, 27–37 to Moscow.
• Russia by rail — via Suifenhe and Pogranichny, then by train from Vladivostok: 19–26 days to Novosibirsk, 26–34 to Moscow.
• Kazakhstan — via Khorgos: 25–40 days to Almaty and 28–43 to Astana by car carrier (rates still preliminary).

How to choose

For most cars a car carrier is the sensible choice: it leaves sooner and costs less. Rail suits an expensive car going far; a container suits a rare car or one shipped with tyres and parts.

In winter an open carrier spends weeks on roads treated with de-icing chemicals, so wash and inspect the car on arrival. For EVs and hybrids winter transit is no risk: the battery barely drains.

You can add cargo insurance (about 32,200 ₽) and door delivery (about 28,200 ₽). The calculator shows the full turnkey price with duties, the recycling fee and our service.

What makes up the delivery price? First, transport within China: we take the car from the warehouse to the border and handle export formalities. Second, the trip from the border to your city. For Russia the car clears customs in Blagoveshchensk or Ussuriysk and continues by car carrier or train; for Kazakhstan it crosses at Khorgos. The calculator shows the route length for every city, and «How it is calculated» shows the crossing, the rates and the exchange rates used. If your city is not listed or you want a container, message a manager — they will pick the route and quote the exact price.