Core answer: On-road price (落地价) = sticker price + purchase tax (购置税 ~8.85% of pre-tax price, 10% on net) + insurance (~¥4,000–8,000 first year) + registration (~¥300–500) + 车船税 (~¥300–660/yr) + dealer fees (negotiable). A ¥150,000 ICE car lands ≈ ¥168,000–172,000; the same-price EV saves the entire ~¥13,300 purchase tax (exempt through 2025, halved 2026–2027). Rule of thumb: ICE on-road ≈ sticker × 1.12–1.15; EV ≈ sticker × 1.03–1.05.
The six components
| Item | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sticker/negotiated price | the big number | negotiate BEFORE discussing extras |
| Purchase tax | net price × 10% (= sticker ÷ 11.3) | NEV exempt ≤¥30k tax through 2025 |
| Insurance | ¥4,000–8,000 year 1 | 交强险 compulsory + commercial |
| Registration 上牌 | ¥300–500 DIY, ¥500–2,000 dealer | dealer "service fee" is negotiable |
| 车船税 | ¥60–5,400/yr by displacement | 1.6L ≈ ¥300–420 |
| Extras (decor, PDI, delivery) | ¥0–10,000 | mostly negotiable/refusable |
Worked examples
Example 1 — ¥150k ICE. Purchase tax = 150,000 ÷ 1.13 × 10% = ¥13,274; insurance ¥5,500; registration ¥500; 车船税 ¥420 → 落地 ≈ ¥169,700. Budget ¥170k, not ¥150k.
Example 2 — ¥150k NEV. Tax exempt; insurance ¥6,000 (NEV insurance runs higher); registration ¥500 → 落地 ≈ ¥156,500. The tax exemption is a ~8.5% real discount.
Example 3 — ¥300k NEV in 2026. Exemption capped: 2026–2027 tax halved, max relief ¥15,000 → tax = 300,000 ÷ 1.13 × 10% × 50% = ¥13,274 → still fully covered by the ¥15k cap → ¥0 tax. Above ~¥339k sticker, the excess starts costing real tax.
Example 4 — The dealer-fee audit. Quote lists: 出库费 ¥800, PDI 检测 ¥500, 上牌服务 ¥1,500, 金融服务费 ¥3,000, 装饰包 ¥6,800. Legitimate: maybe registration ¥300–500 of real cost. The other ¥12,300 is negotiation material — every yuan removed is a yuan of 落地价 saved.
Common mistakes and myths
- Budgeting sticker price — the 12–15% on-top gap kills budgets; always negotiate in 落地价 terms.
- Comparing quotes on sticker — Dealer A: ¥148k sticker + ¥8k fees; Dealer B: ¥150k all-in. B is ¥6k cheaper. Demand itemized out-the-door quotes.
- Financing fog — "0 interest" + ¥4k finance fee is just interest renamed; add ALL fees into the loan cost before comparing with cash price.
- Insurance bundling — dealer-required first-year insurance often costs 20–40% above market; negotiate the right to self-insure or discount the car by the difference.
- Forgetting city-specific costs — 上海 plates auction at ~¥90k+, 北京 requires a lottery win, 深圳/广州 have their own quotas; in restricted cities the PLATE is the biggest line item.