A moulded cargo liner, also sold as a boot liner, trunk tray or luggage tray, is a single formed tray with raised edges that keeps mud, water and spills off the boot carpet. Customers buy it for a perfect fit and then notice two things: whether it slides around, and whether it smells when the boot has been closed in the sun.

This guide is for accessory distributors, retailers, online sellers and companies building their own brand. It covers the decisions behind a cargo liner range sourced from factories in Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia: material, how the factory gets the shape right, boot variants, odour and material testing, packaging, quotation terms and duty. Flat floor mats are covered in our separate floor mat OEM guide; this article deals only with the moulded tray for the luggage area.

💬 Planning a cargo liner range? Send us the vehicles, the material you prefer and a rough quantity. We already work with factories in the region that make mats, and we check whether they, or another factory we find, hold moulds for your models. Tell us about your project.

Choose the material: TPE, TPO or rubber

Cargo liners are usually moulded from a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), a thermoplastic olefin (TPO) or vulcanised rubber, and the choice changes the feel, the odour, the weight and possibly the HS code.

The material names on a quotation hide a wide range of grades and compounds. Ask each factory for the exact material, a data sheet and a physical sample before you compare prices.

Material familyWhat buyers usually want from itWhat to ask the factory
TPE (thermoplastic elastomer)Flexible, rubber-like feel, can be rolled or folded for shipping in some designsGrade, hardness, odour, behaviour in heat and cold
TPO (thermoplastic olefin)Stiffer tray that holds its shape and raised edgesGrade, wall thickness, impact behaviour in cold weather
Vulcanised rubberHeavy, grippy, durable feelCompound, odour, weight per tray, recycled content

A stiffer tray keeps its walls upright and looks precise, but it cannot be folded, which matters for packaging and freight. A flexible tray lies flat against an uneven boot floor and ships more compactly, but its walls may sag if they are tall and thin. Decide which behaviour your customers expect before you ask for samples.

The material also decides which factories can make your liner. Thermoformed TPO trays, injection-moulded TPE trays and compression-moulded rubber trays use different equipment, so the factory that is best at one is often not the one that is best at another. Malaysia’s large rubber-products industry is worth including if you want rubber; our note on rubber products manufacturing in Malaysia explains how those factories work.

How the factory gets the shape: scans, patterns and moulds

Every boot is a different shape, so a vehicle-specific liner needs a mould built from accurate data for that exact boot, and the quality of that data sets the quality of the fit.

A factory that already holds a mould for your vehicle can often sell small quantities as stock items or add your logo. Ask for the mould list by model, generation and body style, and match it against your sales. For models that are not on the list, the factory has to capture the boot shape and build a new mould.

Factories capture the shape in different ways:

  • 3D scanning of a real vehicle: a scanner records the boot floor and walls, and the mould is designed from the scan. Accurate if the scan covers every recess and the vehicle is the exact version you sell.
  • Physical templates: the boot is measured by hand or with templates and the shape is built up. Workable for simple boots, weaker for deep recesses and curved walls.
  • Data you supply: some factories work from measurements or scans you send. You then own the risk if the data is incomplete.

Ask which method the factory will use, where it will find the vehicle, and how many trial trays it expects before the mould is signed off. Agree before you pay that a trial tray will be fitted in a real vehicle of your market’s version, and that the mould will be corrected if it does not fit.

If you pay for a new mould, settle who owns it, where it is stored and whether you can move it to another factory. Our article on tooling and mould ownership agreements lists the clauses to ask for.

Boot variants are the hidden trap

The same model can have several different boots. Check each of these before you list a liner as compatible:

  • Seat layout: five-seat and seven-seat versions often have a different load floor
  • Boot floor height: some models have an adjustable or two-level floor
  • Spare wheel and battery packaging: a version with a different spare wheel, or an electrified version, can have a different floor height or recess
  • Body style: hatchback, estate and saloon versions of one model are different boots
  • Facelifts and regional versions: trim panels and tie-down points can move

Give the factory the model code, body style and year range, and ask which of these variants its mould actually fits. Write the variant on the listing; a liner that fits the upper floor position but not the lower one will be returned.

Odour and material tests

Odour is the most common complaint about moulded liners, so agree in writing how odour and other material properties will be tested, and on which samples, before production starts.

A liner spends its life in a closed boot that can get very hot in summer. Material that smells faintly in an open warehouse can smell strongly in a car. There are international test methods for vehicle interior materials that buyers and factories can refer to:

Test methodWhat it covers
ISO 12219-2:2012A screening method using sampling bags to measure volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde and other carbonyls that may diffuse from vehicle interior parts and materials
ISO 12219-7:2017Odour determination by olfactory measurement, using air from a vehicle interior or from an emission test chamber
ISO 3795:1989A method for determining the horizontal burning rate of materials used in the occupant compartment, after exposure to a small flame

These are test methods, not product approvals. Which of them, if any, a buyer or a law requires for an aftermarket liner depends on the market and on your customers. If you sell to a retailer or a fleet buyer with its own material specification, start from that specification. Otherwise confirm the current rule in the market where you sell.

In practice, buyers often combine a formal test with simple checks of their own:

  • leave sealed samples in a hot car or a warm room, then open and smell them
  • compare samples from the trial run and from volume production
  • ask whether the factory uses recycled material, and keep the material source fixed once a sample is approved

Agree in writing that the factory will not change the material grade or supplier without telling you. A change of compound between the approved sample and the volume run is one of the most common causes of odour complaints.

💬 Want odour and fit checks built into the sample stage? We coordinate trial trays, test requests and specification changes with the factory for you. Send us your model list.

Grip, edges and finish

A liner must stay put, hold spills and look tidy, so specify the backing, the edge height and the surface texture as carefully as the shape.

Things to put in your specification:

  • Anti-slip backing: ask how the underside grips the boot carpet and test it with a load sliding across the tray under braking
  • Edge height: taller walls hold more liquid but are harder to fit around trim panels and seats
  • Surface texture: a pattern that holds items in place without trapping dirt
  • Tie-down and hook access: cut-outs or covers so customers can still use the vehicle’s own fixings
  • Branding: a moulded-in logo needs a mould insert; a label or a print can be changed later

Vehicle makers’ names, logos and emblems are trademarks, and their original accessory designs can be protected as designs. Sunsho Trade does not arrange copies of original-equipment designs or vehicle makers’ logos.

Packaging and freight

A rigid cargo liner is a large, light carton, so packaging decides a large part of your landed cost and your damage rate.

Rigid trays cannot be folded, and the carton is as big as the boot floor. Flexible trays may be rolled or folded, but they can take a crease or lose shape if they are packed tightly for weeks. Ask the factory:

  • how it packs each tray for export and for courier delivery
  • whether trays can be nested in the shipping carton without deforming
  • what the shipping carton’s dimensions are, so you can work out how freight will be charged

Then compare factories on landed cost, including freight on the actual carton, not unit price alone.

HS code and duty: material decides the starting point

A cargo liner of vulcanised rubber and one of thermoplastic can fall under different headings, so classify by material and get a binding ruling when in doubt.

The international Harmonized System gives three starting points:

  • Note 2(a) to Section XVII says vulcanised rubber articles are not “parts and accessories” of vehicles; they go to heading 40.16, which includes subheading 4016.91 for floor coverings and mats.
  • Note 2(t) to Chapter 39 says the plastics chapter does not cover parts of vehicles of Section XVII, which points a vehicle-specific plastic tray towards heading 87.08 (typically 8708.29).
  • Whether a TPE or TPO counts as “rubber” for tariff purposes depends on the vulcanisation and elasticity tests in Note 4 to Chapter 40.

If an authority decides a plastic tray is not a vehicle part, it may fall in Chapter 39 instead. The rate can differ. In Japan’s tariff schedule (8 August 2026 edition), 4016.91-010 (floor coverings and mats of a kind used for motor vehicles) and 8708.29 are duty-free, while 3926.90 (other articles of plastics, “other” line) shows 5.8% general and 3.9% WTO, with preferential rates under Japan’s EPAs, including those with Thailand and Malaysia, shown as free. Taiwan has no EPA with Japan. Other countries set their own rates, so ask your customs authority for a binding ruling before the first shipment and confirm the current rule in the market where you sell.

As the importer you may also carry product liability for the trays you sell; our car accessory OEM overview explains how Japanese and EU rules treat importers.

The groundwork is the same for every item: the fitment data the factory needs, what drives mould cost and packaging for online marketplaces.

Frequently asked questions

1. Is TPE or TPO better for a cargo liner?
Neither is better in general. TPE gives a flexible, rubber-like tray; TPO gives a stiffer tray that holds its shape. Compare samples of the actual grade each factory uses.

2. Can a factory make a liner for a model it has no mould for?
Often yes, by scanning or measuring a real vehicle and building a new mould. Agree who owns the mould and require a test fit in your market’s version before sign-off.

3. How do I avoid odour complaints?
Agree the material and its source in writing, test sealed samples in heat, compare trial and volume samples, and refer to test methods such as ISO 12219-2 and ISO 12219-7 where your buyers require them.

4. Does one liner fit five-seat and seven-seat versions?
Often not. Seat layout, floor height, spare wheel and body style can all change the boot. List the variants each SKU fits.

5. What HS code does a cargo liner use?
It depends on the material and on whether your customs authority treats the tray as a vehicle accessory. Candidates include 4016.91, 8708.29 and Chapter 39 headings. Get a binding ruling.

Summary

A cargo liner range succeeds on three things: a mould built from accurate data for the exact boot variant, a material that does not smell in a hot car, and packaging that keeps freight and damage under control.

Factories in Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia make moulded liners for export. Sunsho Trade is a trading company, not a factory: we find and vet the factory that fits your brief, collect like-for-like quotations, run trial trays and inspection, and arrange delivery, for stock items or your own brand.

💬 Sourcing cargo liners from Taiwan, Thailand or Malaysia? See our car accessory OEM service, or send us your vehicle list and we will come back with factory options.

Sources

Checked on 24 October 2026.