How to Specify Custom-Fit Floor Liners: Importer Checklist
2026-09-20
A custom-fit order fails in one of two ways: the factory ships something that does not match the car, or it ships something that matches the car but not the product you thought you were buying. Both are avoidable at the specification stage, and both are expensive once the container has sailed. This is the checklist we use with importers, distributors and accessory wholesalers before a floor liner programme is tooled.
Define what "custom fit" means for this order
Custom fit is not one product. A moulded tray is built against a pattern taken from the specific vehicle and has raised side walls that follow the footwell. A trimmed mat is cut from sheet to an outline that is close to the footwell but not derived from it. Both are sold as custom fit in the trade, and they land at different retail prices. Decide which one the order is for before anything else, then write it into the specification.
If you need full coverage with high walls, you are buying from the 3D TPE floor liners range. If you need boot protection rather than footwell protection, the equivalent category is trunk mats and cargo liners.
Confirm year, generation and body type
A model name is not a fitment. Two cars with the same badge can have different floor pans after a facelift, and the same model often ships in more than one body style. Give the factory all of the following:
- Make and model, written the way the local market writes it.
- Model year or year range, and the generation code where one exists.
- Body type - sedan, hatch, SUV, pickup, and for pickups the cab configuration.
- Market variant, if the vehicle is built differently for your region.
- Any trim level that changes the interior, such as a third row or a centre console layout.
The Honda CR-V fitment page shows the level of detail worth aiming for: vehicle, drive side, coverage and the tool behind the part, all on one page you can check before you order.
Settle left-hand drive versus right-hand drive
Mirror-image cabins need mirror-image tooling, and a factory that holds left-hand-drive tools cannot produce a right-hand-drive part without a new mould. Drive side is therefore one of the first questions, not a detail. Ask for it in writing on the quotation, so a later reorder cannot drift. Products in the range state their drive side explicitly - the Hilux Vigo dual cab liner is listed as left-hand-drive tooling with the cab configuration named.
List every position you are covering
Positions drive piece count, cost and carton size. Write them out rather than saying "full set":
- Front row, driver and passenger, and whether a one-piece front liner is acceptable.
- Second row, and whether the transmission tunnel is covered.
- Third row, if the vehicle has one.
- Trunk or cargo area, including whether the load floor is flat or has a sub-floor well.
This is the point where a three-piece and a five-piece set stop being interchangeable. Some listings, such as the custom printed 5-piece liner, are built around a fixed piece count, so confirm the count matches your retail listing before tooling.
Fixing points and retention
Modern footwells retain mats through posts, clips or hooks in the floor. Decide whether you need the liner moulded to accept those points, whether you will supply aftermarket clips, and who pays for the fixing hardware if it is included. A liner that ignores the retention points slides forward, which is both a returns problem and a safety conversation you do not want.
Raised edge height and coverage
Edge height is what separates a deep tray from a light all-season mat, and it changes both the clean-up story and the carton bulk. Ask for the edge height in millimetres and a photo of the tray section on the approval sample. Also agree whether the liner covers the sill trim and the lower console sides, or stops at the carpet edge.
Colour, thickness and branding
Decide colour against the interior you are selling into, and decide thickness in millimetres rather than by feel. Branding is usually the last item to be settled and the first to cause a delay, so treat it as its own approval step: logo file in a vector format, position, size, and whether it is embossed into the mould or printed. Embossed branding is fixed in the tool and cannot be changed later without a new one; printed branding stays flexible. The Toyota Crown liner listing is one example where logo printing for buyer labels is offered, so treat printed branding as a separate approval line on the order.
Approve a sample before the bulk run
Ask for a production-representative sample set, not a photo, and test it in the actual vehicle: retention points, pedal clearance, edge contact along the sill, and whether the tray stays put when someone gets in. Approve in writing with the sample reference and date recorded, and keep one sealed unit as the reference against which bulk is checked.
What the purchase order must state
- Vehicle, model year or year range, generation and body type, for every SKU on the order.
- Drive side, position by position, and the piece count per set.
- Material, grade where agreed, thickness in millimetres, and colour reference.
- The tool reference or master sample number the bulk must be produced against.
- Logo artwork file, placement and method, with the approved artwork revision number.
- Fixing hardware or clip requirement, and whether it is included in the set.
- Carton configuration, sets per carton, carton marking and barcode requirement.
- Approved sample reference and approval date, stated as the quality baseline.
- Quantity per variant, allowing a stated tolerance on the total, and the inspection arrangement before shipment.
- Shipping terms, documents required and the shipping marks to be printed on the cartons.
Then send the list
The fastest way to close all of the above is to send one table: make, model, year, drive side, positions and quantity per vehicle. Tell us the make, model and year for each vehicle and we will check our tooling against it, flag anything that needs a new mould, and confirm fitment before a price is issued.