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Rear-of-car cargo carriers

A car has a Thule Arcos towbar cargo carrier and a man gets out of the car and a family walks towards him.

Rear-of-car solutions

Rear-of-car cargo solutions are great for those who don’t want anything on the roof of their car. With a rear cargo box you can optimize the range of your vehicle and turn your compact city car into an adventure car!

You don’t have to buy a big vehicle to transport your family and gear. Our rear cargo boxes turn your compact car into the perfect family car where you can store the gear you need for everyday errands, a day at the golf course, or a trip to your summer house.

The advantages of a rear-of-car solution

The rear of a car with Thule Arcos towbar cargo box, where it is completely integrated.

Bring all your gear without compromising on the range of your electric or fuel-driven car

A white electric vehicle drives with a Thule Arcos towbar cargo carrier.

Works for vehicles and EVs that don’t let you load anything on the roof

A vehicle is parked in a field with a towbar cargo box and a rooftop tent.

A versatile solution that turns a small car into an adventure car

A white SUV drived with a bike and kayak on the roof, a towbar cargo box on the trunk.

Easy to pack and saves space on the roof for more gear

Optimizes the range of your vehicle

Rear-of-car solutions take you and your gear farther...

Rear cargo boxes have no impact on your battery or fuel consumption*. Thanks to the rear cargo box’s location at the back of the car, it’s a spot that naturally causes very little wind drag. With a rear cargo carrier, you can pack your vehicle full of gear without majorly impacting the range of your electric vehicle or fuel-driven car. This will help you save on fuel or electricity costs.

A sketch of the Thule Onto rear cargo carrier and the aerodynamic design.

For electric vehicles that can’t handle a heavy roof load

Certain electric vehicles have restrictions on roof load capacity. With a rear-of-car cargo carrier solution, you don’t have to worry about this. Simply attach your bike rack or cargo carrier to your hitch and get ready for the adventure.

A couple load their golf clubs into a rear cargo carrier that is on their EV.

Bring more, go farther

When we say that rear-of-car solutions take you farther, we really mean farther. Both internal testing at the Thule Test Center and testing by external sources have shown that a towbar box leads to less fuel or electricity consumption than having nothing on the car at all.

A woman loads items into the trunk of a car while her children help load items into the rear towbar box.

Get better range with a rear-of-car cargo box

We know from data models and wind tunnel tests at the Thule Test Center that a rear-of-car cargo solution makes for better aerodynamics than having nothing on your vehicle at all.

It may seem strange at first – how can you possibly lower the air resistance by adding a large cargo box to the back of the car? But the results speak for themselves.

We drove a total of 5400 km in varying weather conditions with a fleet of Volkswagen ID4 – one of the most popular electric vehicles on the market. The results were interesting, to say the least.

The average consumption (kWh/100km) of a vehicle with the Thule Arcos hitch cargo carrier was 95 %. This means that when we drove the Volkswagen ID4 with Thule Arcos mounted, the range improved by 5%* compared to the cars with nothing on them at all. So based on the battery of size of the ID4 and the consumption measured during the tests, we could travel roughly 17 km further*. This data is also backed up by computer simulations that showed a similar result.

We were able to drive farther – and at the same time, we could bring more gear.

A vehicle drives down the street with a Thule Onto rear cargo box.

Tested in real life

This is supported by an external test by Vi Bilägare, Sweden's largest car magazine. It was founded in 1930 and features travel reports and test drives of cars and car accessories. They tested a roof box and our Thule Onto rear cargo box with both electric and fuel-driven cars.

Vi Bilägare found that the towbar cargo carrier created less wind drag than a roof box, and consumed less fuel and electricity than a car with nothing on it at all.

“One way to get more packing space without increasing energy consumption is the latest trend of mounting a cargo box on the car's towbar,” they explain in their article, “We found that both the petrol car and the electric car had slightly lower consumption with the box fitted than when the car was running completely empty on the test route”.

Read the article from Vi Bilägare (in Swedish).

A versatile solution

Rear cargo carriers are a versatile solution that gives you a range of creative ways to maximize the packing capacity of your vehicle.

Turn your compact city car into an adventure car

A rear cargo carrier lets you use your compact city car in a variety of ways. Load on your bikes and head out into the unknown one day, and pack your bags for a weekend trip the next. The choice is yours, we provide you with the solutions.

By the ocean, a white SUV drived has a bike and kayak on the roof, a towbar cargo box on the trunk.

Saves space on the roof

A rear-of-car solution saves space on the roof of your vehicle for other sports carriers. Why not put your luggage in the back, and your bikes or board on the roof?

Easy to pack your gear

Certain rear cargo carriers are tiltable, others sit very low down – but both kinds let you easily access the trunk of your car at any time. A rear cargo carrier is also easier to load or unload, since it’s closer to the ground.

Our rear-of-car solutions

A man gets out of a black car that is parked in a parking lot with a Thule Arcos rear cargo box.

Towbar cargo carriers

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Outside of a house a man loads bikes onto a Thule EasyFold XT towbar bike carrier on a car.

Towbar bike racks

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Recommended rear cargo boxes

Thule Arcos is the most aerodynamic option and is perfect to use in the city with your compact electric vehicle. The hard-shell exterior makes it robust and stable, and the low-profile, curved design means you can access your trunk at any time. This sleek, modern rear cargo box is a natural extension of your car.

Thule Onto is a soft-shell towbar cargo box which makes it easy to fold and store away without taking up too much space. It also tilts so that you can access the trunk at any time. It's perfect for everyday errands or adventures off in the outdoors.

Thule Onto

towbar cargo carrier black

1.219,95 €

Thule BackSpace XT is a super flexible solution that is used together with the Thule VeloSpace XT bike carrier. By adding the Thule BackSpace XT, you can turn your towbar bike rack into a towbar cargo box. Perfect for bringing your bikes one day, and your luggage the next.

Thule BackSpace XT

foldable towbar carrier cargo black

709,95 €

Thule VeloSpace XT

2-bike platform towbar bike rack black/aluminium

799,95 €

*Internal tests at Thule show that our rear cargo boxes have an improved effect on the range of your vehicle. However, many parameters can affect your vehicle’s fuel consumption or battery range. Therefore, you may see results that differ from ours.

Learn more about rear-of-car solutions

In the sunset, a family parked by the water with a car that has a Thule Arcos cargo box.

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