While entering the pricing for Volvo’s new compact hatch, I came across a surprising item: a $300 “Custom Build” charge is assessed if one or more options are ordered. Only a handful of options are exempt from this charge. Want the the base car, but with the optional $40 rear seat armrest? It’s going to set you back an extra $340.

The only other time I’ve come across a similar charge is with some special order options on Mercedes (and then it’s an extra $1,150). But Volvo is the first to levy such a charge with run-of-the-mill options like cruise control and xenon headlamps. Or on a car that starts in the low 20s.

The rationale isn’t hard to guess: options complicate the assembly process, driving up costs. So why not make those who order options foot the bill? To their credit, Volvo has made an unusually long list of options individually available on the C30. Even things like a trip computer, homelink, headlight washers, and automatic climate control are individual options. On most cars these days they’d be either standard or part of an option package. With the C30, only one relatively inexpensive package is even offered.

That said, when there’s a $300 charge for ordering one or more options, anyone interested in just one or two options is likely going to either decide to just go with the base car or order additional items they wouldn’t pay for otherwise. No one’s going to just order that $40 armrest or the $100 trip computer.

No doubt other automakers will study Volvo’s degree of success with this charge. If it pays off with the C30, I won’t be surprised if such a charge becomes commonplace over the next few years.