Why this affects procurement
This en-US version is written for importers, dealers, fleet buyers and project buyers who source vehicles from China and need to control FOB port responsibility, CIF destination-port boundary, freight and insurance, customs duty and VAT, port and inland charges, PDI, documents and registration cost. The commercial goal is not only a lower unit price, but a shipment that can be documented, reviewed, loaded and received without avoidable disputes.
What the buyer should confirm
The buyer should check these items against the actual vehicle model, quantity, destination country, port, LHD/RHD requirement, use case and local regulation. For EV projects, battery, BMS, UN38.3, MSDS, charger and transport declaration should be reviewed before booking.
FOB/CIF, PDI and document responsibility
FOB and CIF define trade boundaries; they do not automatically solve customs clearance, registration, documentation or after-sales responsibility. PDI should keep photos, videos, VIN/nameplate, function test records, spare parts list and container loading evidence.
What to state in the RFQ
The RFQ should state destination country, port, vehicle use, quantity, configuration, target sailing date, whether homologation or third-party inspection is required, and which points have already been confirmed by the local importer.
Conclusion
This article is a procurement and export-execution checklist, not legal, tax, certification, dangerous-goods or logistics quotation advice. Final requirements should be confirmed in writing with the competent authority, local importer, forwarder, carrier, certification body and insurer.
Additional execution note
Buyers should turn the confirmation result into a one-page internal approval sheet: who confirmed destination rules, who checked quotation boundaries, who stored documents, and who reviewed photos and videos before loading. This prevents important information from staying only in chat records when procurement, logistics, finance and account managers work separately. For batch orders, it is safer to verify documents, PDI, loading and destination-port feedback with one sample vehicle before applying the process to the remaining vehicles.