Variable Costs If BMW buys a steering wheel at $60 for each of its BMW X5 vehicles, then the total cost of steering wheels is $60 times the number of vehicles produced Number of X5s Produced 1 1,000 3,000 Variable Cost per Steering Wheel (2) $60 60 60 Total Variable Cost of Steering Wheels (3) = (1) (2) $ 60 60,000 180,000