What is my car's towing capacity?

What is my car’s towing capacity?

This is quite possibly the most important question you will need to answer when looking into getting a towbar fitted to your vehicle. Whether you have a car or a van you will need to check that your vehicle’s capability meets your needs. If you ignore your vehicle’s towing capacity, you are at risk of accident and damage to your vehicle. Your insurance company is also likely to refuse to cover you in the event of a claim, even if the claim does not relate to you towing!

Your towing capacity will be shown in your vehicle documents/handbook but be warned, over the years we have seen a few vehicles where the documented weight differs from what is shown on the vehicle VIN plate. As far as the law is concerned the weight shown on the VIN plate will always take precedence- so this is the figure you must use.

Where is my VIN plate?

This differs from vehicle to vehicle, but the most popular location is on the driver’s door pillar. If it’s not there then other places to look are: Passenger door pillar, boot, and under the bonnet. Usually it’s a black sticker around the size of a matchbox. In some cases, it may be silver or white.

How do I find my Towing capacity from my VIN plate?

Once you have found your VIN plate you will note that there are 4 KG weight figures shown. If you imagine they are labelled A, B, C ,D from top to bottom- then the calculation you need to do is B minus A. This will give you your maximum towing weight, based on a laden vehicle. A laden vehicle means that you are also accounting for the weight of the driver and any passengers and luggage.

• A = Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW)
• B = Gross Train Weight (GTW)
• C and D are the maximum axle loads for the front and rear axles respectively

If we use the above image for example, this is for a 2017 Ford Transit Van. The actual VIN number has been obscured- it is not needed for our calculation:

• A Gross Vehicle Weight: 3500kg

• B Gross Train Weight: 5050kg

• B – A 5050kg – 3500kg = 1550kg

So this vehicle has a maximum towing capacity of 1550kg

Here is another example- this time for a 2024 Cupra Born (EV). Again, the actual VIN number has been obscured- it is not needed for our calculation:

• A Gross Vehicle Weight: 2410kg

• B Gross Train Weight: 0000kg

• B – A 0000kg – 2410kg = This vehicle does not have a towing capacity!

The Cupra Born is not homologated for towing. This means that legally you cannot tow with this vehicle and that would be the case for any vehicle with no towing capacity.

What if my vehicle cannot tow?

For a small amount of vehicles with no towing capacity there are towbar style brackets that can be used with a cycle carrier – I will make another post about that!

This vehicle is an electric vehicle that cannot be used to tow. There are plenty of popular electric vehicles that are successfully used to tow- why not give us a call and we can find out if your car has a towing capacity!