Electric vehicles ride the same deck. They do not weigh the same.
The Southeast now builds electrified vehicles — BMW in Greer, Volvo at Ridgeville, Hyundai at Ellabell — and more of them reach dealer lots and auction lanes every month. They are heavier than the vehicles a car hauler was designed around, and that changes how a load is built.
Illustrative photography — not Prime Trans equipment.Is transporting an electric vehicle different from a gas car?
Mostly no, but three things change. An EV is typically five hundred to a thousand pounds heavier, which limits how many fit on a trailer within legal weight. It should be delivered with a partial charge, not empty. And a vehicle with a damaged battery is treated as hazardous and needs specialist handling.
Weight, charge and damaged batteries.
- WeightA battery-electric SUV can run five hundred to a thousand pounds heavier than the combustion version of the same vehicle. A full deck of them can put a rig over its axle limits where the same number of sedans would not, so an all-EV load usually carries fewer units.
- State of chargeDeliver with enough charge to drive off the trailer and reach a charger — twenty to fifty percent is the sensible window. A vehicle that arrives at zero has to be trickle-charged or winched off, which is an expensive way to save nothing.
- Damaged batteriesA vehicle with a damaged or thermally compromised high-voltage battery is treated as a hazardous material and needs a carrier equipped and permitted for it. That is not us, and we will tell you so immediately rather than take the load.
- Tie-down pointsSeveral EV platforms have different approved tie-down locations than their combustion siblings, because the battery pack is structural. Our drivers use the manufacturer's points, not the closest convenient hole.
Dealers, auctions, fleets and exporters.
- Franchise dealers taking EV allocation and moving it between stores in the group. See Dealerships.
- Auction and wholesale buyers — used EVs are a routine part of auction volume now. See Auction transport.
- Rental and corporate fleets cycling electric units in and out.
- Exporters — used EVs delivered to the exporter's loading warehouse. See Export vehicles.
- Haulaway carriers that need subhaul capacity. See 3PLs, brokers & subhaul.
- Individuals relocating on one of our scheduled lanes. See Car shipping (individuals).
What we ask before the load is built.
| Booking information | Year, make, model and battery configuration, because the curb weight follows from it |
|---|---|
| State of charge | Requested at pickup: enough to drive off and reach a charger. We photograph the dash reading at both ends on the eBOL |
| Load building | EV weight is figured into the load plan before dispatch, not discovered at a scale |
| Damaged or recalled batteries | Declined. These need a hazmat-equipped carrier and we do not hold that capability |
| Insurance | Auto liability $1,000,000 · Cargo $1,000,000 per load, $350,000 per vehicle · the per-vehicle limit is the one to check on a new EV |
Honest scope: we will not take a vehicle with a known damaged, swollen, recalled or thermally compromised high-voltage battery. That is a hazardous-materials move requiring equipment and permits we do not have, and a carrier who takes it anyway is a carrier who has not read the rules.
Straight answers
Should an EV be charged before shipping?
Partly. Aim for twenty to fifty percent state of charge. That is enough to drive on and off the trailer and reach a charger at the other end, without leaving the battery at a high state of charge for days.
Can you ship an electric vehicle that will not start?
If it rolls, steers and brakes, yes, on a winch truck, the same as any non-runner. Say so at booking, because winches are on some of our trucks, not all. If the reason it will not start is battery damage, no — that becomes a hazardous-materials move.
Do EVs cost more to transport?
Sometimes, and the reason is weight rather than difficulty. If the extra weight means fewer vehicles on the deck, the per-vehicle cost rises because the truck's cost is spread over fewer units.
Do you haul EVs out of the BMW, Volvo or Hyundai plants?
Not under contract. Plant outbound volume is awarded to large haulaway carriers, and we do not hold an OEM contract today. We are pursuing subhaul work with those carriers; see OEM & haulaway. Once the vehicles reach dealers, auctions and fleets, moving them is routine work for us.
Where to go next
Auction transport
Auction pickups from Manheim, America's Auto Auction, Copart, IAA and ADESA on our own car haulers. Release handled, photos at the gate, delivered to your lot or your exporter's warehouse.
Read onDealerships
A standing dealer-vendor agreement: trades, auction-to-frontline, customer deliveries and recon shuttles, one call, photos at both ends, Net 15 for approved accounts.
Read onExport vehicles
Auction units from Copart, IAA, Manheim and America's Auto Auction to exporters' loading warehouses around Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, New Jersey and Houston. Never into the terminal.
Read onOEM & haulaway
Car-hauler capacity for OEM programs and the haulaway carriers that hold them: plant-to-dealer and overflow runs out of Spartanburg, 11 miles from BMW Plant Spartanburg.
Read onA unit on the lot costs you every day it sits there.
Tell us where the units are, where they are going, how many and when. A written quote comes back the same business day, from the carrier that will haul them.